


You're Electrifying

by iamcatastrophicc



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-06-29 09:44:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 52,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15726885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamcatastrophicc/pseuds/iamcatastrophicc
Summary: Frank Iero wasn't like most other teenage boys, Gerard found that out rather quickly. Frank was born with a curse that he's tried his hardest to get rid of, a curse that only cause death and destruction and he had to try his best to hide it.





	1. Prologue

It was a dark and rainy Halloween night in the middle of Oregon. The hospital was mostly empty, minus the few kids who suffered broken bones from their adventurous nights out trick or treating and hiding in trees to try and scare little kids, only to fall out of them and suffer the consequences. It was dark and empty but the little box tv in the corner of the lobby still played the news. The receptionist had even dressed up as a little mouse for Halloween. She had to keep her uniform on but had the ears and makeup to go with her costume. 

She sat now at the desk, a sudoku in her hand. She was careful not to mess up for if she did she would ruin the whole thing. After all, she was using a pen and she decided that scribbling things out ruined the whole aesthetic. So she took her time, counting up to nine over and over again until she finished her puzzle and then she dared to flip to the back to try one of the expert ones. 

One of the on call nurses walked into the lobby with two cups of coffee. She gave one to the receptionist before sitting beside her, staring off out the window at the rain that was pattering down. She wished she could just be home right now taking her kids out trick or treating before putting them to bed. But it was late and they were young so they should already be asleep. 

Everyone in the hospital hated working on the holidays and although Halloween wasn’t necessarily a big family Holiday, it meant a lot to their kids and none of them wanted to be away from the adorable little babies dressed as princesses and superheroes. But it was dead here, as it always is on holidays. These times were always the worst because it was so empty here that here was really no point in being here at all. 

But it seemed to give them both heart attacks when the door burst open and a woman came in screaming. She was accompanied by her husband, the two of them dressed head to toe in matching Fred and Wilma flintstones costumes. The woman’s stomach was round, bursting with life that was going to be expected soon. 

“Help me, my wife is having a baby,” the man said. 

They hurried over and got her into a wheelchair, bringing her into a room. 

“Alright, we’re just gonna see how dilated you are,” the nurse said. “Page the doctor.”

“No, no,” The lady sobbed. “The baby’s coming now!”

After a quick examination they realized she was right, she was about to have a baby. They hurried her to a delivery room and she threw her wig down onto the ground as they went. she sobbed, the excruciating pain was something of torture. 

The doctor rushed in just in time. The baby was coming with or without a doctor. The lights began to flicker and the table in the corner covered in instruments began to rattle. The woman’s screams grew louder as they baby came. The lights blew out just as the doctor got the baby in his arms, all of them submerged in darkness. Cupboards blew open and their contents spilled out. 

“It’s a boy,” the doctor said, trying to stay positive despite the fear evident inside him. “Nurse, go grab some candles.”

It was quiet now, the baby didn’t cry as they did the basic tests and cleaned him off. The doctor tried spanking him but he still didn’t cry. They checked his lungs but found everything to be perfect. He wrapped the baby up and handed it to the mom, who was crying quietly. She smiled as the baby cooed up at her in the dark. 

She knew instantly that he was special. He was unique. He was gonna be different and she was gonna protect him.


	2. Chapter 1

Wow, I sure do have an interesting ceiling. It’s so interesting that I don’t think I can get out of bed, I should just lay here and stare at it all day. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’m just gonna lay here and stare at the ceiling. 

“Gerard! You can’t be late on the first day of school!” My mom called. 

I whined, rolling over to bury my face into the pillow. 

“Come on! It’s senior year!” She shouted.

I pulled myself out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. I grabbed a t-shirt and went downstairs, grabbing my backpack and car keys. 

“Don’t forget your lunch,” my mom said. 

I shoved it into my backpack just as Mikey, my younger brother, hurried down the stairs. 

“First day of high school, are you excited?” My mom asked. 

Mikey smiled and nodded excitedly. God, he didn’t even know what was in store for him. 

“Let’s go,” I said. 

We drove to the school and I went to my locker. Jamia was waiting for me and I groaned, leaning against the locker. 

“I’m tired,” I whined. 

She chuckled, patting my shoulder. I opened my locker and grabbed my textbook. 

“You were almost gonna be late,” she said as we walked to class just as the bell rang. 

We sat in the back and the teacher went to the board. She started her whole presentation where she told her entire life story. After ten minutes the door opened and a kid came in, a black hoodie pulled up over his head. He sat down in the only open seat next to me. I frowned in confusion because he was wearing a pair of skeleton gloves, despite it still being pretty warm out. 

He closed and opened his fists anxiously in his lap. Every now and then his hands would twitch oddly. He noticed me watching and he looked up at me. The first thing I noticed was his eyes, his beautiful, beautiful green eyes. It was rimmed with black eyeliner, only seeming to exemplify the green irises. He had a lip ring and a nose ring, a scorpion tattoo painting his neck. 

The boy looked down nervously and I frowned in confusion. Our school isn’t that big, I know everyone in my class, there was only two hundred of us. I had never seen him before, he must be new to this school. He was pretty cute too. 

The day dragged on pretty much the same as it always did the first day. We just got papers to sign as teachers told us about where and what they studied and about their family and their life. 

Jamia and I went back to my house and up to my room. I sighed, laying on the bed. 

“There’s a new kid,” I said. “The one next to me in English first hour. He’s cute.”

“Yeah?” She asked. “You gonna ask him out or something?”

“I don’t know, he’s kinda weird,” I said. “He doesn’t speak at all.”

“It’s his first day at a new school, you can’t blame him for being nervous,” she said. 

“I know “ I said. “He was wearing winter gloves.”

“Okay, That is a little weird,” she said. “Winter gloves? Really?”

“It wasn’t those big snow gloves or anything but they were still the cloth ones,” I said. “He seems odd. He’s also in my math class.”

“Yeah, I saw him at lunch,” she said. “He was sitting alone in the corner.”

“I feel bad,” I muttered. “We should ask him to sit with us.”

Jamia nodded and I closed my eyes. 

“I think I’m gonna fall asleep but I’m not allowed to sleep,” I said. 

She chuckled and held my hand. She kissed my cheek before snuggling up to my side. We weren’t dating, the thought of it weirded me out but we’ve been best friends for our whole lives and we were closer than close. She was like my sister. We ate together, spent all our time together, went on vacation together. We even both came out as gay together. 

“So, How is Lindsey?” I asked. 

Jamia has had a crush on Lindsey for years now. She was practically in love with her. 

“She cut her hair again and it looks so nice,” she said. “And I think she’s been working out. She was wearing a skirt and her thighs looked particularly muscular.”

I laughed and I looked down at her as she blushed. 

“You want your head in between those thighs?” I teased. 

“God yes,” she muttered. 

I chuckled, staring up at the ceiling. I found myself thinking about it and I scrunched my nose up. 

“God, ew, that is too much vagina,” I muttered. 

“Is there any boy that you’re into?” She asked. 

“No,” I said. “Not very many gay boys in this school.”

“Not many lesbians either,” Jamia said. 

“There’s Lindsey,” I said. 

“But she’s bisexual, she’s not a lesbian,” she said. “She’s slept with enough guys to prove she’s into them.”

Jamia looked upset by the thought and I frowned. 

“You can’t get upset with her sexuality just because she’s into guys too,” I said. 

“I’m not, I’m just upset that she’s with other people, I only want her to be with me,” she said. “She sleeps with so many people and I don’t want her to I just want to be the only one to hold her.”

“Ask her to the homecoming,” I said. 

“I can’t do that,” she denied.

“It’s senior year and you’ve been in love with her since middle school,” I said. 

“But she’s pretty and popular and I’m a potato,” she said. “I look like a sack of potatoes.”

“You do not,” I said. “You’re gorgeous, Mia. If I liked girls then I would definitely snatch you up.”

Jamia sighed and sat up. 

“We’re still going to homecoming together, right?” She asked. 

“Of course, I love being your date,” I said. 

“Good,” she said. “I don’t wanna go stag.”

“I love dancing with you,” I said. 

“And if you do get a boyfriend then I’ll just stay home,” she said. 

“No, we’ll go as a group,” I said. “Threesome.”

She snorted, shaking her head. 

“Thanks,” she said. “God, I can’t believe it's senior year already. We’re gonna graduate this year.”

“I know,” I said. “It feels like just yesterday when we were two and you stole my dump truck.”

“Yeah, It was a pretty nice dump truck,” she said. “My dad wouldn’t let me have toy cars because I’m a girl so I was only allowed to play with dolls. God I’m glad my mom divorced him.”

I held her hand and she smiled. 

“I’m hungry,” Jamia said. “I’m gonna go raid your fridge.”

I watched her leave and I smiled as I sat up, grabbing my phone. I went onto Instagram and searched up the new kids name. It was Frank Iero, if I could remember correctly. Instagram found no sign of him and I searched him on every single social media app I could think of but there was absolutely no sign of him. 

“This is weird,” I said when Jamia came back up to my room with a bag of Doritos. “There is literally no record of the new kid.”

“Seriously?” She asked. 

“Yeah, I can’t find anything about him,” I said. “I even searched him in google and there is literally nothing.”

“He is pretty odd,” Jamia said. “You can’t even find a picture?”

I shook my head. “But I’m telling you, he is so beautiful. He’s got such soft, perfect skin and these big, bright green eyes.”

“Really?” She asked. “Oh, he sounds so pretty and sweet but he also seems really creepy and odd. I’ve only seen him with his hood up.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I think we should still try and hang out with him. Maybe he just doesn’t have any social media because he doesn’t have any friends or something.”

“Maybe he just needs some friends to help him get out of his shell,” she said. 

“Is he the family that moved in down the street a month and a half ago?” I asked. 

“I hope not, they’re weird as shit,” she said. “I’ve literally never seen one person who lives there. They even keep their blinds and curtains shut twenty-four/seven. They hired professionals to install cameras all around their yard.”

“Weird,” I muttered. “I don’t know, maybe we should just leave him be. Him and his whole family is really weird. What if they’re serial killers?”

“I don’t think they’re serial killers,” she denied. “No, we’re gonna do something nice and we’re gonna talk to him.”

I nodded, still trying to look him up.

“For the record, if I end up getting murdered then I’m blaming you,” I said. 

She chuckled, sitting beside me. 

“He just needs a friend,” she said. 

“Yeah, everyone just needs a friend,” I said. 

“Sounds like some sappy kids show,” she said. 

“Yeah but it’s true,” I said. “He’s probably lonely and that’s why he acts all weird. Imagine being so lonely and having to spend all of your time alone. Why do his parents practically board up his house? I never saw him all summer after he moved in, he spent the whole summer inside with all the curtains shut.”

“Maybe he can be our third friend,” she said. “He can obsess over Lindsey with me. Unless he isn’t into girls. I don’t know his sexuality. But I hope he is because you don’t obsess over girls with me enough.”

“You can have a friend that also likes eating pussy,” I said. “Because that’s definitely not me. Just the thought of it grosses me out.”

She chuckled, resting her head down on my shoulder as she watched me scroll through his phone.

“Are you into the new kid?” She asked. 

“Why would you say that?” I asked. 

“Just from the way that you described him,” she said. 

“He’s pretty, i can’t deny that,” I said. 

Jamia giggled and fed me a dorito chip. The two us just spent the rest of the day together in my bedroom.


	3. Chapter 2

“Hi, I’m Gerard,” I said when the new kid sat beside me. 

“Frank,” he said quietly, not looking up. 

“This is Jamia,” I said. “We were wondering if maybe you wanted to sit with us at lunch.”

“We usually need a third party to settle disputes,” Jamia said.

“She’s joking, we just wanna hang out with you,” I said. 

Frank was quiet and it seemed like he was debating what to say. Why would he choose to just not talk to anyone?

“Okay,” he finally said. 

Frank looked up at me and I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw his pretty green eyes again. 

“You’re new here, right?” Jamia asked. “You live down the street from us.”

Frank nodded, biting his lip. The bell rang, interrupting our conversation. Not that I really minded, it was just awkward. 

But that awkwardness was still settled in later at lunch. I ate quietly, sitting in between both Frank and Jamia. 

“Where’d you move from?” I asked. 

“Nowhere,” Frank said. 

I looked at him curiously and he shrugged. 

“Like, you know, the middle of nowhere,” he said. “Middle of Kansas from a farm.”

“You don’t look like you’re from a farm,” I said, glancing over his piercings and tattoos.

“Moved around a lot,” he said. “Not originally from a farm.”

We waited for him to explain but he didn’t say anything.

“We should hang out after school,” I said. “Jamia and I usually just hang out at my house and eat food.”

“I like food,” he said.

“Well then, looks like we’re gonna get along really well,” Jamia said.

I saw a small smile spread over Frank’s lips and I couldn’t help but grin.

“It’s settled then,” I declared. “We’re gonna go back to my house and hang out.”

Frank nodded and I smiled. 

“You have such cool tattoos,” I said. “Your parents let your get them?”

“Yeah, my mom does,” he said. 

“Do you have divorced parents?” Jamia asked and he nodded. “My parents are divorced too, I know what it’s like to have to split christmas’ and birthdays.”

“I-I don’t really see my dad anymore at all,” he mumbled. “He left when I was young.”

“Awe, I’m sorry,” Jamia said. 

He just shrugged, brushing it off. 

“Not a big deal,” he mumbled. “I hardly remember him. All I remember is the one time he took me to the zoo and I dropped my ice cream and cried.”

I snorted and I saw the way a soft blush spread over his face. Lunch ended and I walked back to class. The day went by pretty fast, it usually does at the beginning of the year. 

“So,” I mumbled as I walked into my house. 

We grabbed some food and went up to my room. 

“So, Frank, What are your deepest and darkest secrets?” Jamia asked. 

Frank looked panicked and she chuckled. 

“I’m joking,” she said. 

I held the bag of chips out to him and he looked down at his gloved hands. He seemed to be debating before finally eating chips with his gloves on,getting dust on the cloth.

“Why do you have those?” I asked. 

Frank shrugged and I sat on my bed, eating my chips. 

“Fuck, wait, I have to drive my brother to practice,” Jamia said. “I have to go but I’ll be back later.”

She left and I sighed as I looked at Frank. He looked around and picked up a CD off my shelf. 

“Misfits, I love misfits!” He cheered. 

“Really?” I asked. “I don’t meet too many people that are into them.”

“They’re my favorite,” he said. 

“Mine too,” I said, walking over. 

I stumbled and fell against the bookshelf. Frank jumped back in shock and I felt some things fall on my head as I realized that the shelf was tipping over onto me. I waited for the crushing weight to shatter my body but it never came. 

I looked up and saw the shelf floating above me. I looked at Frank and saw his hand out a few inches from his body with the palm up, only at the height of his waist. He tipped his hand up so his fingers pointed to the ceiling and the shelf magically moved back up into its normal spot. 

I stared at Frank with wide eyes. He looked panicked. 

“Holy fuck,” I breathed. 

Frank let out a small whimper. He looked terrified. He hurried out of the room and—after a moment to come out of shock—I chased after him. 

“Wait! Stop!” I called as we ran down the street. 

I grabbed his arm but ended up tripping, falling and scraping my knee. Frank stopped and looked back, guilt spreading over his face as he looked at the blood on my knee. 

“Fuck,” I muttered, touching it lightly as I felt he stinging pain erupt over my leg. 

He looked around before he pulled me into his house. He was crying as he sat me down on the couch. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he cried. “I-I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He held out his hand and a blue ball of flame erupted over his hand. He moved it closed and I backed up. 

“It won’t hurt,” he promised. 

He gently pressed the flame to my knee and I felt what almost felt like lotion soothing over my leg. He pulled his hand away and I wiped the blood to find my knee completely healed. 

“Frank!” Someone shouted.

“I-I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Frank cried. “Mama, I didn’t mean to!”

A lady walked in, concern on her face. She was small, like Frank, with brown hair and light brown eyes.

“Frank, we’ve only been here for two months,” she said.

Frank cried quietly as he nodded.

“What the fuck,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Frank whimpered. “I-I didn’t mean to let him know. He was gonna be crushed, I couldn’t let him be hurt, he’s so nice.”

“C-can I please have some sort of explanation?” I asked. “What the fuck is going on?”

His mom sighed, she looked scared and upset.

“You should go home,” she said.

I shook my head and looked at Frank, who was sniffling and whimpering quietly.

“Go home,” his mom repeated.

She looked angry but I couldn’t tell if that anger was directed at me or Frank.

“I-I just want an explanation, I wanna know what happened,” I said. “Y-you picked up the bookshelf without touching it. You had--you had fire hands.”

“You need to leave,” she stated.

I looked at her nervously, before I stood up. I walked out of house and went down to my own house. Shock was still flowing through me and I couldn’t even think straight. My legs felt numb, my whole body was beginning to go still with complete shock. 

I looked at the mess in my bedroom, the contents from my shelf cluttered on the floor. I laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. My heart was racing, I thought that I might actually have a heart attack because _what the fuck_. What the absolute fuck.

Frank now had an explanation for being so fucking weird. Because he can make things float and has blue fire that comes out of his hands. He...he healed me. I sat up and looked at my knee and saw that it was good as new, besides the drying blood. I glanced at the bookshelf and frowned. It had to weigh at least a hundred pounds.

“Woah, what the fuck happened?” Jamia asked when she walked in.

I looked at her with wide eyes and she frowned in confusion.

“Gee?” She asked.

I only shrugged looking down.

“What’s happening down the street?” She asked.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Frank and some other lady we packing things into a car, they were rushed and it looked like they were fleeing almost,” she said.

My eyes widened as I sat up.

“Hey, Mia, I’ll call you later,” I said.

She didn’t even get a chance to say anything before I ran downstairs and to Frank’s house, where him and his mom were in the open garage packing things in.

“Please don’t leave,” I begged. “You don’t need to leave. I won’t tell anyone, I promise I would never do something like that. You don’t have to run away.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Frank whimpered. “You know what I am now, we can’t stay here.”

“No, you don’t have to leave,” I said. “Ms. Iero, your son saved me, I would’ve been crushed if it wasn’t for him. I owe him my life, I wouldn’t tell anyone about him. You don’t have to leave. Please don’t leave.”

“We can’t stay,” she stated. 

“Please, mom,” Frank begged. “I-I don’t wanna move again.”

“We can’t stay,” she stated. 

“Please, you don’t have to leave, you shouldn’t have to leave and run away just because he saved me,” I said. 

“Please, Mama,” Frank whimpered. “I-I don’t wanna move again.”

“Fine, we can stay,” she said. “But if I even think that you’ve told someone then we are out of here instantly.”

“I wouldn’t, he saved my life,” I said. 

She grabbed a box and went inside. Frank sniffled, wiping his eyes. 

“Sorry for crying,” he mumbled. “I probably look fucking dumb.”

“You don’t,” I denied. “I would be too if I had to up and leave all the time.”

“I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, I don’t like hurting people,” he said. 

“It was just a scraped knee,” I said. “It isn’t your fault that I tripped.”

Frank wiped his eyes and I held his hand to try and comfort him. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

“C-can I get an explanation now?” I asked. 

Frank nodded, pulling me up to his room.


	4. Chapter 3

“So what the fuck is actually going on?” I asked. 

“I don’t know exactly what to call it,” Frank said. “I think it’s a curse, my grandma called it magic.”

I was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him pace back and forth. 

“You were just born like this?” I asked and he nodded. “How?”

“My grandma was into a lot of weird shit,” he said. “Like weird voodoo shit or something, I don’t even know exactly. But when my mom was pregnant she kept giving her all these odd teas because she claimed it would make the baby better but I have to be fucking born with this curse.”

“I don’t think it’s a curse,” I said. “I think it’s cool.”

“It isn’t,” he denied. “It’s shit. I hurt people.”

Frank took off his gloves and I saw little bolts of electricity dancing between his fingers. 

“It happens when I get nervous,” he said. “I always become electrified when I’m scared.”

“That’s why you’re always wearing gloves,” I said. 

“Yeah, just in case,” he said. “I don’t always need them but I just keep it on anyways. They’re lined with hydrocarbon compound fibers so the electricity doesn’t go through the gloves and I don’t accidentally let someone see it or accidentally shock someone.”

“A-and the blue fire?” I asked. 

Frank held his hand up and the ball erupted again. 

“It heals,” he said. “It heals everything. I-I can make paraplegics walk again. I can cure cancer and mental disorders but I can’t show anyone. I can help people but I’m not even able to, I can only hurt people.”

Frank sniffled and I looked at him curiously. 

“Do you have any other powers?” I asked. 

“Yeah, I’m like a walking circus,” he said. 

He held up his hand and an orange flame appeared. I went to poke it but he closed his fist. 

“Don’t touch the orange flames, the orange ones are bad,” he said. “It’s fire.”

I looked up at him curiously and he sighed. 

“I know I’m a freak—“

“You’re not,” I interrupted. “You’re amazing.”

Frank looked at me in shock and I smiled. 

“You’re fucking amazing,” I said. 

Frank blushed and I saw the little bolts of electricity on his fingertips. 

“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” I said. 

Frank nodded and he closed his eyes. The mini lightning bolts dissipated and he sat down next to me. 

“Is that it then?” I asked. 

“No but…I don’t really like using them,” he said. 

“That’s alright, you don’t have to show me,” I said. 

He nodded and Looked down at his hands, which was no longer covered in lightning bolts. 

“Does it hurt?” I asked. 

“No, it doesn’t,” he said. “There’s just this kind of tingly feeling. Like when your leg falls asleep or something. Just a little tingle.”

“So, you move around a lot, huh?” I asked. 

“We have to run away every time someone finds out about me,” He said. “We have to change our names too.”

“What’s your real name?” I asked. 

“I can’t even remember,” he said. “I’ve been Anthony and James and Mark and Greg and everything. At about twelve my mom decided on the name Frank and just stuck with it and only change our last names because it was getting too expensive.”

“That’s why there’s no record of you anywhere, Frank Iero didn’t technically exist until two months ago,” I said. 

Frank nodded sadly and I held his hand.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. 

“Nothing, I just hate having to move around and put all this stress on my mom,” he said. “We’re really close, we have to be since we can’t really interact with anyone else. And I know she never asked for a child like me and I know that it’s really stressful on her.”

“It’ll be okay,” I said. “Your mom loves you, she wants you to be happy and healthy.”

“I know but I just wish I could take some stress off of her,” he said. “I’m trying to move out when I graduate but my mom won’t let me. She says that we need to stick together but I mean, i don’t wanna live with my mom when I’m an adult. What if I fall in love? Not that I can ever date a guy but still.”

“You’re gay?” I asked. 

Frank realized what he said and little bolts fired up around his fingers again. 

“It’s okay, I’m gay too,” I said. 

He seemed relax a lot at that, the little bolts of electricity dying down. 

“Why wouldn’t you be able to date a guy?” I asked. 

“Because I can’t exactly hide my curse from someone I’m around a lot,” he said. “And I get so nervous around the guy I like that I electrocute them. How am I supposed to have my first kiss or my first time with someone when my body is coursing with electricity? Physically I just can’t date anyone.”

“maybe if you’re comfortable around someone enough then you can tell them about your powers,” I said. 

“Maybe but…it’s too dangerous,” he said. “I can’t let anyone know.”

“One day you’ll fall in love,” I said. 

“Have you ever been in love?” He asked. 

“I’ve been with a couple of guys but I was never in love with any of them,” I admitted. 

“Oh,” he mumbled. “I feel like I’m the only seventeen year old virgin in the world, everyone else is always talking about who they hooked up with but I haven’t even kissed someone.”

“There’s plenty of virgins,” I said. “Jamia’s a virgin, there’s lots of kids at our school that are virgins.”

“Freshman don’t count,” he said. “Freshman are, like, twelve.”

“Not including freshman, even just in the senior class there’s virgins,” I said. 

Frank sighed, pulling his hand away. 

“It’s hard enough finding gay guys but it’s even harder finding a gay guy to accept me and my curse,” he said. “I’m just gonna die alone, I know it.”

“You aren’t dying alone,” I denied with a small chuckle.

Frank sighed unhappily and fell back on the mattress dramatically. 

“I’m just glad that for the first time in my life I have a friend who knows about my curse,” he said. “Wait, y-you are my friend, right?” 

“Of course I am,” I said. 

“Good, I’ve never had a friend before,” he said. 

“Never?” I asked. 

“Never stuck around long enough to keep one,” he said. 

“Well, now you have two,” I said. “Both me and Jamia.”

“Sorry if my mom seemed aggressive earlier, by the way,” he said. “She’s just really protective, she isn’t usually like that.”

“That’s okay, I get it,” I said. “I would be too if I had to worry about the safety of my child too.”

“She’s usually sweet,” he said. “She’s just worried.”

“I get it,” I said. 

I saw a few more bolts on his fingertips. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked. 

“Nothing, I’ve just never had a friend in my house before so I’m a little bit nervous,” he said. 

“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” I said. 

Frank nodded and looked up at me. 

“You’re nice,” he mumbled. “I thought you were going to hate me because of my curse.”

“No, I don’t hate you, I could never hate you just for who you are,” I said. “And it isn’t a curse.”

“It is,” he mumbled. “You don’t understand any of it, you’ve only just barely skimmed the surface of my awful fucking life.”

I looked at him sadly, he looked really upset. He really did hate his life.

“Maybe it’ll get better, maybe you can find something to help stop or take away the strength of your powers,” I said.

“I’ve tried, I couldn’t find anything,” he said. 

Frank turned over, burying his face into the mattress. I placed my hand on his shoulder and jumped back in shock. His skin felt like ice.

“A-are you okay?” I asked. “D-do you need a blanket or something?”

“No, I’m okay,” he mumbled. “I get really cold when I’m sad. People can’t usually tell because they’re just normal humans but happiness changes the temperature in your body. But because of my curse that’s all taken to the extremes so when my happiness is gone then it takes all the heat out of my body too.”

“D-does it hurt?” I asked nervously.

“No, it doesn’t,” he said.

“How do you get warm again?” I asked.

“Usually just with junk food and movies,” he said.

I gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, trying to rub comfortingly. But my hand began to go numb from how cold it was. I wished I could hug him and comfort him but he was freezing and I just couldn’t touch him.

“Frankie, d-do you need something?” I asked.

“No, I kinda just wanna be alone,” he mumbled.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Frank nodded and I stood up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Frank muttered.

“Alright, see you then,” I said. “Also, I noticed that your mom drives you to school, I can give you a ride if you want, I already drive Jamia and my brother, you met him yesterday.”

“Uh, y-yeah, that’s fine,” he said.

I nodded, looking at him for a moment before I left. I saw Ms. Iero trying to reorganize everything from where she had packed it into the car.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused,” I said. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

She sighed. “I know I probably seem like a crazy hover parent but I’ve already almost lost him before and I just don’t want it to happen again”

I wanted to know what she was talking about but I knew I probably shouldn’t ask.

“Do you need help with this stuff?” I asked. “I feel like it’s partially my fault.”

“No, that’s okay,” she said. 

“Frank says that he’s fine but I just want to make sure,” I said. “He’s, like, really cold and I don’t think it’s healthy.”

“He’s okay, the cold doesn’t affect him because the blue healing flames form on the inside of his body when he’s cold and it keeps him from actually being affected. He can’t even feel it,” she explained. “He never gets cold, never gets hot, never gets sick.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “I-I should go now.”

I walked out of the house with only more questions than answers.


	5. Chapter 4

It’s been a month since I found out about Frank powers and he’s thankfully gotten a lot more comfortable with me. He doesn’t even have to wear his gloves around me anymore. And although he’s usually shy about it, he does use his powers around me sometimes.

“Okay, okay,” I said as I laughed. “Frankie, stop, get down.”

Frank giggled, looking down at me from the ceiling. He was flying and had pressed himself up against the ceiling.

“Frankie!” I exclaimed. “Come here!”

Frankie giggled and slowly lowered himself down the floor. I smiled, pulling off his gloves. I grabbed the marker and started doodling on the palm of his hand. Frank giggled and pulled away. 

“It tickles!” He exclaimed. 

I pulled his hand back and finished the little kitten.

“Oh, it’s cute!” He cooed.

“See, it wasn’t so bad,” I said.

“It tickles,” he said.

I chuckled and set the marker down on the desk. I touched his shoulder and gasped as I felt a soft shock.

“Sorry,” he giggled.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I know you didn’t mean to.”

Frank smiled and sat down, looking at the little doodle on his hand.

“Frankie, can you show me some of your other powers?” I asked. “You have the flames and the telekinesis and the flying but what else?”

Frank shrugged. “I guess I have some other things but I don’t know if I really wanna share them right now.”

I nodded and he blushed laying back down on the bed.

“What?” I asked. “First you’re so energetic you’re literally bouncing off the walls and now you’re all nervous.”

Frank’s blush darkened as he shrugged. I smiled, holding his hand. I leaned down, gently pressing my lips against his. I pulled back and gasped when I felt the small shock. 

“Did you electrocute me?” I gasped. 

Frank blushed, whimpering in embarrassment. I smiled as I looked down at him, our faces inches apart. 

“Do you want me to kiss you again?” I asked. 

Frank nodded and I closed the distance between us. I ignored the small shock this time as I kissed him softly. Frank seemed to follow my lead nervously. 

“Is this okay?” I asked quietly. 

Frank nodded, leaning up to kiss me again. I smiled, caressing his cheek. 

“Why did you kiss me?” He asked. 

“Because I like you,” I said. 

“B-but I’m a freak,” he whimpered. “How could you like me?”

“You aren’t a freak, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” I said. 

I gave him a soft kiss and he blushed. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled. 

I sat up and he looked at me nervously. 

“What?” I asked. 

“Nothing, I-I just didn’t know you felt the same way about me,” he mumbled. “Nobody’s ever liked me before.”

“I don’t believe that, how could someone not like you?” I asked. “I liked you the second I laid eyes on you.”

Frank sat up, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. Little blue bolts danced around his fingertips. 

“Frankie, I-if I ever do something that makes you too nervous then tell me,” I said. “I know you say that it doesn’t hurt you at all but it just looks really dangerous and it worries me.”

Frank nodded and I gave him a soft kiss. He whimpered, pulling me closer. 

“Fuck, I really like kissing,” he mumbled. “I should’ve done this a long time ago.”

I giggled, holding his hand. 

“So do I,” I said. “I like kissing you.”

“I’m not very good at it,” he said. 

“Your lips are soft and your kisses are gentle, I love it,” I said. 

Frank blushed and I bit my lip. He looked so cute with his cheeks all pink like that. 

“You’re a cutie,” I mumbled. 

“You’re so sweet,” he muttered. “You’re too sweet to me.”

“You deserve all the sweetness,” I said. 

He leaned forward, nervously kissing me and giving me a small shock. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I don’t mean to electrocute you, I just get so nervous around you because I like you.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “It really doesn’t hurt.”

I pulled him closer and kissed him softly. My tongue pressed against his lips softly and he opened his mouth. Our tongues ran along each other’s and I held his hips. 

“Wh-what does this mean for us?” He asked as he pulled away. 

“It can mean whatever you want it to mean,” I said. 

The pressure seemed to only terrify him and I held his hand. 

“I do want to date you, Frankie, but we don’t have to date if that makes you uncomfortable,” I said. 

“I-I do,” he said. 

I gave him a soft kiss and he giggled. 

“I have a boyfriend,” he said. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

I smiled, caressing his cheek.

“God you’re adorable,” I muttered.

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. He seemed so happy as I hugged him back, happier than I ever thought I would see him. 

“I’m glad you didn’t leave, I would miss you so much,” I said.

“Me too, I’ve already moved so many times and I don’t want to move again,” he mumbled.

“Frank, does your mom know that your gay?” I asked.

“She does, she’s known since I was a kid that I was gay,” he said. “The two of us are really close to each other.”

I gave him a soft kisses on his neck and he giggled. I felt another small shock and I chuckled. Frank looked so embarrassed and I held his hand.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I think it’s adorable.”

“It’s not, it’s weird,” he said.

I held him close, giving him a kiss.

“Boys! Dinner is ready!” Frank’s mom called.

We went downstairs and sat around the table. Frank was blushing and awkward like he didn’t know how to act now. 

“Let’s say grace,” Ms. Iero said.

Frank held his hands out like he’s done this a million times before. We held hands around the table and I looked down

“Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen,” Frank said.

“Amen,” Ms. Iero said.

We pulled away and started eating. I have to admit that that’s the first time I have ever said grace before a meal. Although my parents were technically Christian, I’ve only been to church about five times in my life.

“So, are you staying the night, Gerard?” Ms. Iero asked.

“If that’s okay with you,” I said.

“Of course it is,” she said.

I smiled at Frank and he blushed. 

“How is school going?” she asked.

“It’s good,” frank said. “I really like this school. And I actually have friends for the first time.”

“I’m really glad, you know I wish you didn’t have the life that you do,” she said sadly. “I want you to be like a normal kid and to have friends and to go to one school and have friends. But you’re so much more special and perfect now. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. You’re my sweet little boy.”

“Can we stay here, mom?” Frank asked hopefully. “I really like it here and I don’t want to move away.”

“Yeah, Frankie, we’re gonna try and stay here for as long as we can,” she said.

Frank didn’t seem all that happy about that answer but he didn’t say anything more. Even the thought of him moving away even made me upset too. I didn’t wanna see him leave, I really liked him.

“Why do you always have to move?” I asked.

“Once someone finds out about Frank then we have to move,” she said. “We just can’t trust anyone.”

“What’s his real name?” I asked.

“His real name is Anthony Messina,” she said. “But I liked the name Frank and decided to keep it after we changed his name about a million times and I kept Anthony as his middle name.”

“How many last names have you had?” I asked.

Linda sighed. “Fuck, I don’t even know. More than twenty, I think. Maybe fifteen. I’m not even sure.”

“Do you change your first name too?” I asked.

“I did but stopped around the same time Frank stopped,” she said.

I nodded, eating my food. I wanted to ask how they afforded moving so much but it would be rude to ask about money. But I still couldn’t help but be curious.

“How long have you lived here, Gerard?” Ms. Iero asked.

“My whole life,” I said. “It’s pretty nice here. There’s nice people and there’s a pretty good school system.”

“I don’t ever want to leave here,” Frank said.

When we were done Frank and I went back up to his room. He gave me some pajamas and I quickly got changed. 

“So, can you read minds or something?” I asked.

“No, of course I can’t read minds,” he said. “That would be pretty cool, though.”

I held his face in my hands and he blushed. His hands rested nervously on my hips and he pulled me closer. There was a small dance of electricity as my lips pressed against his. He whimpered, his fists curling into my shirt. I kissed him a little rougher, pulling him closer to me. Frank let out a soft gasp and I smirked. 

“A-are you a virgin?” He asked quietly. 

“No,” I said. “Am I right to assume you are?”

He nodded, biting his lip as he looked down. 

“Does it make you nervous that I’m not?” I asked. 

Frank shrugged. “It’s just that…you’re more experienced than me. What if one day we’re doing stuff and it’s just all embarrassing because I don’t know what to do and I don’t make you feel good.”

“I’m always good as long as I’ve got dick,” I said and he snorted. “But I’m serious, Frankie, it doesn’t matter at all.”

I pulled away and laid down in the bed, curling up under the blanket. Frank turned off the light and created a flame ball in his hand to head back to bed so he could see his way in the dark. He let it disappear when he crawled into bed with me and I smiled. I gave him a kiss, curling up with him before I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 5

Frank was fidgeting with his gloves while we sat in class together. I watched him curiously and reached over to hold his hand. Frank seemed to calm down a bit and I smiled. 

“It’s okay,” I whispered. 

Frank nodded and I smiled. He squeezed my hand gently, looking down at his lap. I wasn’t quite sure what he was so nervous about but I knew he was nervous and I wanted to help him. 

When class ended I pulled him into the bathroom, waiting for the people to leave before I sighed. 

“What’s wrong, Baby?” I asked. 

“I don’t know, just anxious,” he mumbled. 

I gave him a soft kiss and felt him relax a bit in my arms. 

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m better,” he said. 

“You just get anxious sometimes?” I asked.

Frank shrugged and I held his hand.

“What if you tried something to fix that?” I asked. “Meditation? Medication?”

“Medication doesn’t work on me,” he said.

“None?” I asked. “Even just pain relief?”

“No, I’ve never needed it,” he said. “I have the blue healing flames, they help keep all the pain away. I can’t feel pain.”

“Can the flames heal yourself mentally?” I asked. “With your anxiety?”

“I’ve tried but I can’t quite do it,” he said. “I wish I could but it just doesn’t seem to work properly on myself. It seems to work on other people but...god, the one time I actually want powers then they don’t work properly.”

“Can’t you control your powers better?” I asked.

“I’ve tried, I’m pretty sure they have a mind of their own,” he said.

Frank sniffled quietly and looked down at his hands in sheer disgust.

“Hey,” I whispered, pushing both his hands together into a little ball so I could wrap my hands around his. “You can’t hate yourself for this. This is you and you are absolutely perfect. Your powers are amazing.”

“They aren’t powers, Gerard, they’re a curse,” he said. 

I gave his hands a small kiss and smiled. 

“But they aren’t because they’re amazing,” I said. 

Class had already started by now but Frank and I made no move to leave. I kissed him softly and he whimpered, tangling his hands into my hair. The soft material of his gloves brushed against my neck and I smirked as I backed him up against the wall. 

“G-Gerard, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to have sex together or do anything like that,” he said. 

“Why not?” I asked. 

“Just because I get so nervous because I’ve never done anything like that before and I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. 

“You won’t hurt me,” I denied. “And we don’t have to do anything right now. We can wait, it’s gonna take a lot of trust and care.”

“It’s just sex but because it’s me it’s like planning a mission or something,” he muttered. “Everything has to be so fucking complicated. Everyone has to cater to my every need so my curse doesn’t go bizerk and I hate it.”

“Frankie, it’s okay,” I said softly. 

“No it’s not,” Frank denied. “Nobody can ever have a normal life because of me. I’m a fucking nuisance and nothing more.” 

Frank left the room and I frowned softly. I wished I could make him feel better but I wasn’t sure how to. The day went by slowly and I had assumed that Frank went to class but when I found his desk empty I realized that he had gone home instead. 

“Hey, can we hang out some other time?” I asked Jamia when we got home at the end of the day. “I’m gonna go check up on Frank.”

“Is he sick or something?” Jamia asked. “He went home early.”

“Yeah,” I said. 

I walked down the street to his house and Linda let me in with a warm smile. 

“How’s Frank?” I asked. 

“Oh, not too well,” she mumbled sadly. 

I went upstairs and found Frank curled up in bed. I placed my hand on his shoulder and jumped back from the sudden touch of cold. 

“Shit, Baby, you’re freezing,” I said. 

I covered him up with the blanket, even though I knew it wouldn’t help. When I looked closer I saw that he was asleep and I sighed, running my fingers through his short hair. 

I grabbed his laptop, waiting for him to wake up. I was gonna go on Netflix but I opened the task manager and looked at the photos. I smiled and clicked on it. It looked like old photos transferred to his laptop, showing him and his mom from recent days to years ago. Sometimes there were even other kids in the pictures. 

I saw a file that was called ‘Trials and Tests.’ I frowned in confusion and clicked on it, looking at the videos here. One was called ‘Fire Trails-One Year.’ 

I clicked on it and saw who I assumed was Frank as a little toddler. He was so little with chubby cheeks as he looked up at the camera. 

“Mama,” He said. 

“Hey, Junior, can you show me your fire?” Linda asked from behind the camera. 

Frank became more interested in a toy truck. 

“Come on, Anthony, Baby, can you show me your fire?” She asked. 

Frank set the toy down and a tiny little ball of flame erupted in his tiny baby hand. 

“Thank you, Junior,” she said. 

Another man dumped a bucket of water over Frank’s head and the little toddler was knocked to the ground as he started screaming. Poor baby Frank looked so scared. 

“Can you show me your fire?” Linda asked. “I promise after you show me your fire then we can go get your dried off.”

Frank cried as he held out his hand but no flame erupted. His crying stopped and he seemed confused. 

“It worked!” The man gasped. “It actually worked. He just has to be soaking wet so he doesn’t light the curtains on fire again.”

The video cut off then and I clicked on another called ‘Electricity Trials-Four Years.’

“Alright, Junior,” Linda said from behind the camera again. “You just have to stand here, okay?”

Little Frank nodded, looking around as he wore a weird vest. She moved through a gate, the two separated by a chain-link fence. 

“I’m so sorry,” Linda whispered. “Release it.”

In the background the man from before opened a dog crate. A great big pitbull charged at little Frankie, snarling and barking. Frank screamed, grabbing onto the fence as he tried to reach for his mom. The dog was attached to a leash so he couldn’t reach Frank but he was just over a foot away from him. 

Little Frankie screamed and cried, lightening bolts erupting from every inch of his skin. His mom, who had been holding onto the fence, screamed and let go as Frank conducted the fence into an electrical fence. The camera showed the gruesome burn mark on her hand. 

“Baby, Baby, you have to let go of the fence so I can let you out,” she said. 

But little baby frank was terrified, piss dripping down his leg as he tried to reach to his mom for comfort.

“Anthony! Get rid of it!” Linda shouted. 

The dog was put back into the crate and Frank calmed down. Linda opened the fence and held out her hand. 

“Can you help Mama?” She asked. 

Frank sniffled and pressed the blue light to her skin to heal her wounds. She picked him up, both of them crying. 

“I’m sorry, Baby, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. 

“Well, the vest didn’t work,” the man said. “We have to find a way to stop the lightning bolts, he can’t keep hurting people.”

“He doesn’t mean to, he’s just a baby,” Linda said. “He isn’t able to control his emotions.”

The video cut off as the two of them argued. I scrolled through the videos and found one labeled ‘Diethylaluminum chloride Trials-Fourteen Years.’

I couldn’t help but giggle when I saw fourteen year old Frank. He had brown hair that swept over his face in a truly emo style with a black misfits t-shirt and some colorful bracelets with black skinny jeans. 

“Are you sure about this, mom?” Linda asked. 

“It’s worth a shot,” Frank’s grandma said. “You have to stay very calm, Junior, no sparks. This chemical is highly flammable.”

Frank sighed, sitting down in the kitchen chair. His grandma pulled out a syringe and grabbed his arm while his mom held his other hand. His grandma injected the liquid into his veins and Frank looked at both of them as they waited in anticipation. 

Frank started seizing all at once, his eyes rolling back. He began convulsing and fell to the ground as his mom screamed. When his body fell still they both checked to see if he was still breathing which they confirmed he was. 

“Baby, Baby, can you wake up?” Linda asked. “Can you show me your fire, Junior?”

Frank weakly lifted up his hand and a ball of orange flames appeared. 

“It didn’t work,” Linda whispered, all hope leaving her body. “I don’t think we can do these tests anymore. I know he’s unhappy and I know everything would be better off if he didn’t have any of these but I can’t risk anything bad happening to him. No more tests, we’ve tried everything.”

The video ended and I watched sadly. There were over a hundred videos. Poor Frank had to go through all of these kinds of things so much. I set his laptop aside and curled up next to him. He’s warmed up a bit thankfully as I laid with him. 

“Muhera,” Frank mumbled as he stirred awake half an hour later. 

“What?” I asked with a quiet chuckle. 

Frank only hummed and I gave him a soft kiss. I held him close and he smile softly. I held his hand which, for the first time, wasn’t encased in gloves. His hands were smooth and soft and pale, barely touched by the outside world. 

I placed his hand onto my cheek and he blushed. He pressed his lips against mine, kissing me softly. But it became more heated as he laid over me between my legs. 

“I-I know this sounds weird but I haven’t had skin on skin contact with anyone in a while and I’m reveling in it,” he whispered. 

I pulled off my shirt and Frank ran his hands over my chest. He laid his head down against my shoulder and just smiled, hugging me tight as I felt a special warmth radiate from his body.


	7. Chapter 6

Jamia smirked at me and I raised my eyebrows at her.

“What?” I asked.

“Tell me about you and Frank,” she said. “I can’t believe you two are actually together, I didn’t think he would really be into dating that much, he’s so shy, I barely even hear him speak.”

“Yeah but he’s really interesting,” I said. “It’s just really hard for him to open up to other people.”

“I asked him if he wanted to go to the mall last weekend with me so I could get to know him better but he made like three different excuses and then tripped over all his excuses and then he just hung up on me,” Jamia said.

“Oh yeah, h-he just gets really nervous around people so he doesn’t really go out in public,” I said. “He has a lot of social anxiety.”

He does have a lot of social anxiety but he also doesn’t go out because he doesn’t want anyone to somehow discover his powers, they’re hard to control and he doesn’t want to accidentally expose himself in public.

“Oh, that makes sense,” she said. “I just kinda wanted to get to know him better, he seems really sweet.”

“Maybe the three of us can hang out together sometime,” I said.

“He’ll never hang out alone, he only seems to be comfortable with me if you’re around,” she said. “I think it’s kinda sweet that you two are so close to each other and he’s so close to you.”

“He’s so cute and sweet,” I said. “And he makes my heart skip a beat and I get this really nervous feeling around him and...oh god, he is so cute, Mia.”

“Awe, you’re totally falling for him,” she said. “You really like him, that’s so sweet and cute. You two are cute together.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah, you two should run for homecoming kings,” she said.

“Oh, I don’t think Frank would like that,” I said. “And you know I’m really not big on homecoming dances either, I never go to those.”

“You two would look so cute dressed up on that stage in your fancy suits,” she said. “You could have cute matching ties and everything!”

“I don’t really think that’s our thing,” I said. “We just kind of like to spend our time in his room.”

“Sounds saucy,” she said.

I snorted, shaking my head.

“Not like that, Frankie still isn’t comfortable with that kind of stuff,” I said. “The whole touching thing he isn’t so good with.”

“Touching?” She asked. “Oh yeah, I’ve noticed that, he doesn’t like touching people at all.”

He doesn’t want to electrocute them.

“Yeah, just a little thing about him,” I said. “He’s got quirks, I guess.”

“So do you guys like cuddle and stuff if he doesn’t like to touch?” She asked.

“He’s getting a little better with it but he still gets a little nervous,” I said. “He does like to touch but it just makes him a little bit nervous.”

“He’s such a cutie,” she said.

“He is,” I said. “Oh my god, Mia, he’s so cute. And he makes my heart beat really fast and I get little butterflies.”

“Awe, you two are so cute,” she said.

“Did you see what Lindsey was wearing yesterday?” I asked.

“Yes, oh my god,” she said. “It was so cute and I loved how it looked on her.”

I smiled as she gushed, a soft blush on her cheeks. 

“You should ask her to homecoming,” I said. 

“No, I can’t,” she mumbled. “She doesn’t even know I exist.” 

“You don’t know unless you talk to her,” I said. 

She sighed, shaking her head. I frowned as I looked at her, she seemed so upset. I wanted to help her feel better, maybe I could somehow get her with Lindsey. 

“Maybe one day you’ll have her,” I said. “Or someone else you care and love about.”

She smiled and I kissed her cheek. 

“I love you,” I said. “You’re my best friend and I want you to be happy.”

She smiled and picked up my remote, turning on my tv. She found something good on and cuddled with me. 

“Maybe I can invite Frank over now,” I said. 

She nodded happily and I grabbed my phone. 

_Gerard: hey, baby, you wanna come over to hang out with me and Jamia?_

_Frank: idk…_

_Gerard: I promise it’s gonna be okay and it’s alright if you don’t want to but Jamia just kind of wanted to get to know you better. Besides, I haven’t seen you all day and I miss you._

_Frank: okay, I can come over for a little bit but not long_

I smiled, setting my phone down. I let him in when he came over and he gave me a kiss. 

“Hey, I missed you,” I said quietly. 

Frank blushed, looking down as he fidgeted with his gloves. 

“Missed you too,” he mumbled shyly with a small smile. 

I held his hand and pulled him upstairs. 

“Hey, Frank,” Jamia said. “What’s up?”

“H-hi,” Frank muttered nervously. 

He stood nervously and I smiled as I sat on the bed, pulling him with me. 

“So, we’re just kind of hanging out,” I said. “We want to hang out with you too because you’re so sweet.”

He blushed and I smiled, holding his hand.

“I was saying that you guys should run for homecoming kings at the dance that’s coming up,” Jamia said.

“Oh, I-I’m not going,” Frank said.

“You’re not?” I asked in confusion.

“No,” he said. “Are you?”

“Jamia and I always go and I just assumed you would wanna join,” I said.

“No, I’m not going,” he stated.

“It can be fun,” I said. “You don’t have to dance if you don’t want to but we can just get dressed up all cute and hang out there and go out to dinner.”

“No,” Frank denied.

I looked at him, biting my lip.

“Oh, it’s okay,” I said. “We can just stay home and watch movies.”

“No, that’s okay,” he said. “You go with Jamia, send me pictures.”

“A-are you really sure?” I asked.

I nodded and he smiled but when his hands quickly became cold through his gloves.

“Well, maybe the three of us can go out for dinner beforehand if you don’t wanna go to the dance and we’ll drop you off after,” Jamia suggested.

“No, that’s okay,” he said.

“We should go to the movies one day this week,” I said. “There’s a new horror movie out that I want to see.”

Jamia nodded and Frank frowned.

“I don’t really like horror movies,” he said. “I-is it okay if we see something else?”

“Definitely,” Jamia said. “There’s the new rom-com. Gerard and I love rom-coms, as much as he might try to hide it.”

“I like them too,” Frank admitted. “They’re sweet and wholesome.”

I could feel his hand starting to warm up slightly and I sighed in relief.

“You want some ice cream?” She asked.

“We have ice cream sandwiches downstairs, you want one Frank?” I asked.

He nodded and Jamia went downstairs.

“Are you okay, Frank?” I asked. “You got really cold.”

“Yeah, no, it’s nothing,” he mumbled. “It’s okay. I’m fine, Gerard, really.”

I smiled, giving him a kiss.

“Just come to me if anything is wrong, okay?” I asked.

Frank nodded and I kissed his cheek. Jamia walked in and we ate happily.

“Okay, you two make such a cute couple,” she said. “I just really wanted to say that.”

“That’s just because Frank is such a cutie,” I said. “He’s the reason we look cute.”

Frank blushed, smiling as he looked down.

“Do you have a dress yet for the dance?” I asked.

“I was gonna go and get one tomorrow,” she said. “I found a really cute one at the mall, it’s really simple but I still think it’s really nice.”

“I bet you’re gonna look gorgeous,” I said.

Frank nodded, a cute little dopey smile on his face. I finished eating and tossed my wrapper into the garbage. I went to my closet and grabbed my suit jacket, putting it on over my t-shirt to make sure that it still fit.

“You look good,” Jamia said.

Frank blushed and looked away.

“Really?” I asked. “I feel like I’m always just kind of looking like a greasy rat in a suit.”

“You look nice in a suit,” she said. “And at the dance on saturday you’re gonna look so nice all clean and dressed up in your suit, sweetheart.”

I smiled, taking my jacket off, tossing it aside onto the back of my desk chair. I sighed, sitting on the bed. Frank played gently with his gloves and he took a deep breath before taking them off. There were no bolts of electricity now, his pale, tattooed hands completely exposed.

“Don’t you ever get hot wearing all those hoodies all the time?” Jamia asked. “It’s still pretty warm out.”

“Um, no, not really,” he said quietly. “I just really do get cold a lot so I usually just keep the gloves and the hoodies on because it’s warmer and more comfortable.”

I smiled and sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He blushed, the same shy smile on his face that I loved. I gave him a soft kiss and he let out a quiet giggle. 

“Ah, I’ve gotta get going,” Jamia said as she looked at her phone. “I’ll see you two later.”

We nodded and gave her hugs before she left.

“Jamia is happy that you’re hanging out,” I said. “She wants to get to know you better.”

“I know and I feel bad but I’m just scared of her seeing my lightning bolts and finding out about my curse,” he said.

“It’s not a curse,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Come here, Baby.”

I pressed my lips against his, my heart skipping a beat. I pressed him down against my bed and felt the familiar bolts of electricity.

“You okay?” I asked.

Frank nodded, kissing me again and soon the tingling bolts went away and we curled up in bed together.


	8. Chapter 7

I smiled as I picked Jamia up, she was wearing a pretty knee length black dress with lace along the top. She smiled, giving me a kiss in the cheek. We went to grab a quick bite of food before heading to the dance at school. 

“You look so cute,” I said.

Jamia smiled as we sat at a table.

“You don’t look bad yourself,” she said.

“I wish Frank were here,” I mumbled.

“He’s probably just not into these kinds of things,” she said. “Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to spend time with you, though.”

I nodded and she stood up, holding out her hand.

“Come on, let’s go dance,” she said.

I smiled, going over to the dance floor with her. We spent the night dancing together before there was a slow song and we danced together. But I just kept thinking about Frank as Jamia laid her head on my shoulder.

“We should go,” she said.

“There’s still an hour left,” I said.

“Yeah but you miss Frank,” Jamia said with a small smile. “You should go be with him.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She nodded and I dropped her off at her house before heading down to Frank’s. His mom opened the door with a sad smile, letting me in.

“Frank is upstairs,” she said.

I watched her go over, trying to clean up the singed couch.

“What happened?” I asked, looking at the burnt armrest. “Did a candle fall over?”

“No, it was Frank,” she said quietly, her voice breaking.

I bit my lip before going upstairs. I found Frank curled up in bed and when I touched his freezing cold shoulder.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked.

Frank looked up at me and sniffled.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

“Frankie, what is it?” I questioned.

“I-I just really wanted to go to the dance with you,” he said. “But my mom won’t let me. I think she’s worried that I’ll accidentally recreate Carrie.”

“It’s okay, Baby,” I said softly “I’m here now. Do you wanna dance?”

I played some slow music on my phone and held my hand out. Frank looked at it nervously before taking it and standing up with me. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close. The two of us swayed together and I smiled.

“Why’d you light the couch on fire?” I asked.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said. “We were arguing because I wanted to go to the dance and I accidentally lit the couch on fire, I really didn’t mean and I feel bad.”

I cupped his cheek, kissing him softly. It became more rough and I gently backed him up against the wall. My hand brushed against his thigh and he sucked in a small breath.

“C-can I suck you off?” I asked.

Frank blushed and nodded. I kissed along his neck, my hand going down to cup the semi in his pajama pants. I massaged him slowly before sinking down to my knees. I felt a shock and looked up at him.

“Frankie?” I asked. “You okay? Are you sure you want to?”

“Yeah but I’m just nervous,” he said. “I-ignore the bolts, please. It doesn’t mean I don’t want it, I’m just nervous.”

“Okay, tell me at all if you’re uncomfortable and want to stop,’ I said.

He nodded and I reached forward, pulling his pants and boxers down. I wrapped a hand around him, stroking him slowly until he was fully hard. I took him into my mouth slowly and he cried out before quickly covering his mouth with his hand. I grabbed his other hand, guiding it to tangle it into my hair. 

The shocks dissipated as I licked up his underside from the base to the tip and he let out a muffled cry of pleasure. He leaned back against the wall, letting out a quiet moan. I swirled my tongue around his tip before taking him into my mouth as far as I could with only a little light gagging. I looked up at Frank, his head tipped back, mouth still covered with his eyes squeezed shut.

I hollowed out my cheeks, moving my mouth on him as I reached up to massage his balls. Frank whined, his knees going a little bit lax for a moment before he leaned back against the wall more. I knew he was probably getting close and I moved fast on him. The hand in my hair tightened and his hips began to stutter.

He came suddenly and I gagged but swallowed as much of it as I could. He whimpered, relaxing against the wall. I pulled away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Frank had a soft smile on his face as he looked down at me.

“Holy shit,” he breathed. “Th-that was amazing.”

I smiled as he pulled his pants back up. When I touched his hand I felt that it wasn’t cold anymore, it was nice and warm. I stood back up, giving him a soft kiss. He seemed a little taller and I realized he was floating a bit.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I-I don’t know,” he mumbled.

He sank back down again, blushing softly. I sat on the bed and he fidgeted nervously.

“Was that fast?” He asked. “I-I’m sorry, I feel like it was really fast and that’s really embarrassing.”

“It’s okay, Baby,” I said, reaching over to hold his hand.

“Hey boys!” Ms. Iero called and Frank jumped away quickly just before the door opened. “Hey, I knew you were upset about not being able to go to the dance with your friends and I am so sorry. How about we all go out for some ice cream.”

“We get to go out?” Frank asked excitedly.

“Yeah, we’ll get some great big sundaes,” she said.

Frank nodded excitedly and she left. He got dressed, his hands jittery but there was still a little bit of bolts. We went downstairs and went out to an ice cream shop.

“Junior, will you calm down before you blow a fuse?” Ms. Iero asked.

“Sorry,” Frank muttered, taking a few deep breaths.

We ordered ice cream and Frank was still wiggling around in the booth.

“Why do you call him Junior?” I asked curiously.

“He was named after his father, his name’s Anthony Junior so I’ve just been calling him Junior throughout all the name changes,” Ms. Iero said. “Frank, sit still, you’re turning red, people are gonna get concerned.”

I looked over and Frank was turning a bit red and I looked at Ms. Iero worriedly.

“People’s heart races when they get excited,” Ms. Iero explained. “Because of Frank’s...condition--”

“Curse,” Frank interrupted.

“Because of that his body tends to take things to the extreme,” she said. “So basically when he gets excited his heart beats faster than the normal persons and his body gets hot and so his skin will kind of turn reddish. Just take deep breaths, Junior.”

Frank tried to calm down and I held his hand underneath the table.

“The gloves keep the lightning bolts away, though, right?” I asked. “So we don’t have to worry about blowing a fuse.”

“Well, it only works on small bolts for just everyday anxiety types of things,” he said. “Anything bigger and the gloves don’t really work that well.”

I nodded as the ice cream came.

“Why are you excited?” I asked.

“Because we never go out,” Frank said. “I think this is my first time going somewhere other than school in ten years.”

“I wish I could take you out more,” Ms. Iero said.

“I know, you don’t have to feel bad,” Frank said.

He ate happily, still not really sitting still in his seat but he was trying his hardest.

“I’ll try and fix the couch later,” Frank said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Ms. Iero said with a sad smile. “You don’t have to do it alone, I’ll help you.”

I could tell just by watching them that the two of them had a special connection. They were closer to each other than any parent I’ve seen with their child. They helped each other and loved each other. They spent all of their times with each other and I knew they would do anything to protect and help each other. They probably got into fights, like normal teenage boys with their moms, but they seemed to always be able to not only apologize but also make up for what happened.

“I’m sorry,” Frank said again. 

“I’ll run by the store after and get some cloth, okay?” She asked.

Frank nodded, sighing quietly. We finished eating and when we had to pay I pulled out my wallet.

“Oh no, sweetheart, it’s okay,” Ms. Iero said. “I’ve got this.”

“No, I can--”

“No,” she interrupted. “Why don’t you two go wait out in the car? I’ll be out in a minute.”

Frank nodded and we went outside. We got into the car and started it up, sitting in the backseat. She came back and sighed as we drove back to Frank’s house.

“So, how long have you two been dating?” Ms. Iero asked.

“What? H-how’d you know?” Frank gasped.

“I’m your mom, Junior, I know everything,” she said.

She dropped us off at his house before going off to go to the store. Frank began trying to clean the couch as I watched.

“You light things on fire a lot?” I asked.

“I-I don’t mean to,” Frank whimpered. “I-I just get angry sometimes and it’s like how I get cold when I’m sad, fire just comes and I don’t mean for it to happen.”

I noticed Frank was crying and I quickly wrapped my arms around him.

“I-I don’t mean for it to happen,” he cried. “I don’t wanna hurt her but I scare her and I don’t want that. She tries to hide it but I know that she’s scared of me. I just fucking hate this fucking bullshit. Why the fuck did it have to happen to me? Why do I get all this shit?”

“It isn’t--”

“It isn’t fucking powers, Gerard,” Frank interrupted. “It isn’t cool, it’s fucking shit. My life is hell.”

I looked at him sadly, his body turning cold. He just shook his head and kept working. When his mom got home they stitched up the burnt part, covering it with a piece of cloth, a shade lighter than the brown couch. It was only then that I noticed other stuff, the patches on the couch and on the armchair and the curtains.

“I’ll see you on Monday,” Frank said.

“Y-yeah, sure,” I said.

I gave him a hug before walking out of the house, going back home.


	9. Chapter 8

Frank didn’t come to school today and that worried me but Jamia said that he had just called in sick. Which I knew was a load of bull because Frank cant get sick. I went to his house after school and saw him curled up in bed. When I touched his shoulder I found what looked to be actual frost on his shoulder because of how cold he was. But he was asleep and I didn’t want to bother him as I went downstairs. 

“He’s literally freezing,” I said to Ms. Iero. “Ice is forming on his skin.”

She nodded, looking down sadly. 

“Does he usually get like this?” I asked. 

“Not often,” she mumbled. “And it isn’t good when he does.”

“Why?” I asked. 

She sniffled, wiping her eyes. 

“He’s depressed, really depressed,” she whispered. “He hates that he was born with this curse and I understand. H-he’s tried to take his own life before just to get out of his life. He one time swallowed a bunch of pills but because his body can heal itself it just immediately digested and had no effect. And then he tried again by…by slitting his wrists but they just magically healed again after a second.”

“F-Frank tried to kill himself?” I whimpered. 

“He’s unhappy,” she said sadly. “I wish I could make it better for him but I just don’t know what to do. I let him stop being homeschooled so he could go to school like a normal kid when he was old enough so he could have more of a normal life but he has a really hard time making friends because of his anxiety and so he just sort of isolates himself and it only made him worse and I offered to homeschool him again but he wanted to go outside at least sometimes.”

“When did he last try it?” I asked. 

“Just a little bit before coming here,” she said. “An…incident happened and I was packing things up to move and went to his room when I heard screaming. I found him on his bedroom floor with a razor, his wrists covered in blood but they were already healed up. He was screaming because it didn’t work and I had to take the razor away from him, even though it wouldn’t work, he wouldn’t stop trying. But I held him until he passed out and got him into the car along with our stuff and we spent a couple weeks living in our car driving across the country before we came here.”

“What type of incident?” I asked. 

“Oh, it’s a long story and Frank doesn’t like to talk about it,” she said and I could tell she didn’t want to either. “But it’s good that you’re here. Frank is really happy with you and you really are making a big difference in his life.”

I smiled softly, playing with the hem of my shirt. 

“How will he die?” I asked. 

“That’s a good question, we don’t know how or when he would die,” she said. “Organs will never begin shutting down when he gets old, can’t be shot or stabbed. We don’t know what will happen.”

I sniffled, looking towards the stairs. 

“I should go upstairs,” I said. “I’ll stay and wait for Frankie to wake up.”

She smiled and I went back to cuddle up in Frank’s bed. Although I layered to blankets between us, I tried to stay as close as possible to him. A cloud of mist gently blew out of his mouth from how cold he was. He even made the room a little colder, like an ice pack kept inside a foil-lined thermal bag.

“Hey, Frankie,” I whispered. 

His eyes slowly fluttered open and he smiled when he saw me. 

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” I said. 

“Hey, I missed you,” he mumbled. 

“I would kiss you right now but I’m afraid my tongue might stick to you,” I said. 

Frank sat up and held his hand out, his gloves flying from his desk into his hands. He put them on me then held my hand, laying back down next to me. His hand was still cold through the glove but it helped. 

He closed his eyes, starting to doze off again. I watched as he seemed to wake himself back up again and I giggled. 

“Can we just watch a movie or something?” He asked. 

I nodded and grabbed his laptop. He curled up in between my legs and I smiled down at him, his back pressed to my chest. He was still freezing but was starting to warm up now. I still had to keep a blanket between us. He looked so small and sweet curled up against my chest and it made my heart skip a beat. 

I kissed the top of his head, despite how cold it was. We watched a movie together and he ended up dozing off in my arms. I ran my fingers through his hair as he began to warm up more now. Ms. Iero opened the door and smiled when she saw us. 

“Is he doing okay?” She asked. 

“He’s getting warmer but keeps falling asleep,” I said. 

“He does that,” she said. “When he gets really upset he can sleep for practically days at a time. Once he actually slept for a total of twenty-six hours without waking up. His body is just trying to recover and he turns real cold and uses so much energy with the blue flames keeping himself warm that he just gets really tired and passes out.”

“It takes energy to use powers?” I asked. 

“Yes but it usually takes a lot to wear him out,” she said. “I’m gonna make some soup for him when he wakes up, would you like some too?”

“That sounds good,” I said. 

She left, shutting the door behind her. I sighed, kissing Frank’s cheek. 

“Hey, Baby, come on, your mom’s gonna make some soup,” I said. 

He mumbled sleepily and rubbed his eyes as he yawned. 

“You okay?” I asked. 

He nodded and I held his hand, bringing him downstairs. We sat at the table and he yawned, his head constantly lulling to the side. 

“Alright, Junior, you need to eat,” Ms Iero said, setting a bowl down in front of him. “Gerard, can you please make sure that he eats as much as possible?”

She got me my own bowl and I thanked her quietly before she went off to work. I ate, watching Frank slowly and sleepily spoon the soup into his mouth. 

“You okay?” I asked. 

“Sleepy,” he muttered. 

He finished half the bowl before pushing it away, sleeping with his head on his arms on the table. I finished eating and cleaned up our dishes before helping him back upstairs. I frowned quietly, holding his hand after taking off his skeleton gloves that I was still wearing. He was definitely warmer now, there wasn’t any ice left on his skin and I could hold his hand without being in pain. 

It wasn’t until his temperature returned to normal that he finally woke up. He yawned and stretched and let out a scared shriek when he realized I was in bed with him, mini lightning bolts coursing over his skin. I cried out in pain as he electrocuted me and cradled my numb, tingling arm. There was a wound on my hand and it almost seemed like my hand was splitting open and I screamed in pain. 

But the pain quickly washed away when Frank covered it with his hand and when he pulled away I found that the wound was completely gone. I sniffled, wiping my eyes as I looked up at him. 

“S-sorry for scaring you,” I said. 

“I could’ve killed you,” he whispered. 

“You wouldn’t, this was just an accident,” I said. 

“I think we should break up,” Frank muttered. 

“No, Baby, it’s okay, it was just an accident,” I said. “We’re gonna be okay.”

“No we aren’t because I can’t control my curse and I’m gonna kill you one day,” he said. “Just go.”

“I’m not leaving,” I denied. 

Frank just held his hand up and I suddenly felt myself floating towards the door. I gasped, kicking my feet before he set me on the ground, using his telekinesis to open the door for me. 

“Frank! I’m not just gonna leave!” I exclaimed. 

“What’s going on?” Ms. Iero asked as she walked over. 

“Why did I even have to be born?!” Frank shouted. “My life fucking sucks! Everything sucks! You shouldn’t have taken those stupid fucking teas! I have nothing! I hurt everyone!”

There was a certain glow on his skin and I could see the flames dancing on his fingertips. 

“There’s a bucket in the bathroom, fill it with water,” Ms Iero whispered and I hurried down the hall.

I did what she told me and I could hear Frank still yelling while Linda tried calming him down. I came back just in time to see Frank accidentally light his bed on fire and Ms. Iero quickly grabbed the bucket, dumping it over Frank’s head. He stood there, soaking wet but still angry. Thankfully there were no flames on his hands and the water managed to hit the bed and put it out. 

“I hate this!” Frank cried. 

“Baby, it’s okay,” Ms. Iero said softly. 

“It’s not!” He sobbed. “I hurt everybody! I should just fucking die!”

“Baby, Baby no,” she whispered, going over to hold him tight. 

Frank cried into his mom’s arms while I stood behind watching awkwardly. She ran her fingers through his hair, shushing him quietly. 

“It’s okay, Baby, it’s okay,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Frank cried and I slowly backed out of the room before walking downstairs. I wasn’t exactly sure what to think at this moment. Was Frank serious? Were we actually broken up? Maybe he was just angry and didn’t mean anything that he said. I understand why he’d be angry.

I sat on the couch and soon enough Ms. Iero came back down and smiled softly when she saw me. 

“I’m sorry for getting him upset,” I said. 

“No, it’s okay,” she said. “Frank has a hard time control his emotions and he always keeps everything bottled up so his curse doesn’t go crazy and that results in him just exploding sometimes.”

We heard a crash upstairs and she cursed before hurrying back up and I followed. Frank was on the floor, his chair knocked over as he began having a seizure. Linda laid him on his back and he eventually calmed down and she moved his legs into a certain position before turning him onto his side. 

“This is called the recovery position,” she said. “You might wanna learn this since you’re spending a lot of time with Frank, he has seizures sometimes.”

“Frank still wants to spend time with me?” I asked. “H-he told me he wants to break up with me.”

“He doesn’t want to,” she said. “He's just scared of hurting you.”

“I-I think I should just go for now,” I said. “He probably needs to rest.”

She nodded and I slowly backed out but I wanted nothing more than to go back in and hold him in my arms.


	10. Chapter 9

“Do you wanna come over to my house go watch a movie tomorrow?” I asked Frank as I sat down in class.

“I broke up with you,” he stated. 

“Baby, I know you’re scared about hurting me but you won’t,” I said. “And besides, you’ve got the blue flames so you can fix me.”

“But I can still hurt you,” Frank said. “It’s best for everyone if you just stay away from me.”

“Not for me or for you,” I said. “I can barely go a day without seeing you, I would miss you too much. Can we please go and talk about this?”

Frank’s fingers began twitching more and he quickly took his bag and left. I followed him to the bathroom, locking the door behind us. I could see the little blue lightning bolts dancing up his neck and arms. 

“Are you okay?” I asked, taking a step closer. 

“D-don’t touch me,” He said. “I-I just need a moment.”

Frank curled up in the corner and took a few deep breaths while I watched. 

“Do you need something?” I asked as the bell rang. 

Frank sniffled, leaning his head back against the wall. He just closed his eyes and the bolts slowly began to die down. 

“I’m sorry for working you up,” I said. 

“It’s not your fault,” he said. “It’s my fucking curse.”

I sat next to him, holding his hand. 

“I don’t want to break up with you,” I whispered. 

Frank looked up at me, his eyes watering. 

“I’m gonna hurt you,” he mumbled. 

“You won’t,” I denied. 

I gave him a soft kiss and he whimpered, kissing back desperately. I tangled my hand into his hair before pulling away, resting my forehead against his.

“I need you,” he whispered. “You keep me sane. My curse doesn’t seem so bad when I’m around you. But I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t—“

“You can’t say that,” he interrupted. “I already have. I hurt everyone I touch.”

I just kissed him again and he sniffled. 

“C-can we go home?” He asked. 

I nodded and stood up, holding out my hand. He looked at it a little nervously before taking it and we snuck out of school together. We went to his house up to his room and I smiled, curling up to his side on the bed. 

“Hey, I thought I heard you come in, Junior,” Ms Iero said when she walked in. 

“I’m sorry, there were just too many bolts,” he said. 

“That’s alright, better safe than sorry,” she said. “Do you guys want something to eat?”

“Not now, thank you,” Frank said. 

She smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. 

“What does your mom do for a living?” I asked. “How does she afford all these houses?”

“Well, my dad is pretty shit but he’s also a lawyer so he makes pretty good money and he still pays child support,” he said. “And on top of that she does work online, I don’t know what exactly but she does.”

“Why did your dad leave?” I asked. “Y-you don’t have to answer but I found some of the trial videos and he seemed nice.”

“He decided that he didn’t want to deal with a child that has a curse and that it was too much for him,” he said. “But I don’t think that he ever thought about how I might feel about having this curse.”

“When was the last time you talked to him?” I asked. 

“I don’t know, I was, like, five or something,” he said. “But he pays a lot for our houses and bills. He manages to get prices of houses down really low too, maybe it’s some lawyer shit that I just don’t really understand.”

I looked at him before leaning up to give him a soft kiss. 

“Please don’t leave me again,” I whispered. 

“You don’t need me,” he denied. “I’m not that important, I only make the world worse.”

“No, don’t say that about yourself,” I said. “You don’t make the world worse. Everytime I see you I get so nervous and I just think about how gifted and amazing you are and how nice and sweet and innocent you are. And you’re so kind, you would do anything to help other people, even if that means exposing yourself. You helped me when you saved my life, I would’ve died if it weren’t for you.”

Frank sniffled and looked at me. His eyes had a certain glow to it almost but it faded away quickly, leaving me to just believe it was my imagination. 

“Frankie, you’re one of the sweetest people that I know and I really like you,” I said. 

I pressed my lips against his and he whimpered as he pulled me closer. I pulled at his shirt and tossed it aside. Soon our clothes were discarded and he laid on top of me between my legs but the sparks were building up more and more. 

“Ow,” I muttered as he shocked my hip. 

“S-sorry,” he muttered. 

“It’s okay,” I said. 

Frank shocked me again and I bit my lip but ignored it. But then he shocked me again and I pulled away. 

“Frankie, just relax,” I said. 

Frank shook his head, quickly putting his clothes back on. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I told you i can’t have sex.”

“You just have to get out of your head,” I said as I pulled on my boxers. “It’s adorable that you worry so much but you have to just take a few deep breaths, okay?”

Frank nodded and sighed, putting his gloves on. 

“Do you really need those?” I asked sadly. 

“Just in case,” he said. 

I walked over and gave him a soft kiss, feeling the light little shock that made me giggle. I put on my clothes and sighed, holding his hand. 

“It’s okay, Baby, we don’t have to do anything,” I said. 

Frank smiled softly and gave me a hug, burying his face into the crook of my neck. He took a deep breath and I smiled, hugging him back tight. He seemed to really enjoy the hug and it reminded me of the skin to skin contact that he missed. He rarely ever hugs his mom, let alone anyone else. Imagine going most of your life without being able to touch another human being. 

It took me a moment to realize he was crying and I shushed him softly, gently rubbing his back to try and calm him down. It was quiet, light crying and he wiped his eyes when I pulled away. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“It’s okay, you’re adorable,” I said, giving him a kiss. 

“I’m hungry,” he said. “Let’s go get something.”

I followed him down and he dug through the cabinets but they were mostly empty. 

“We keep it as empty as possible in case we have to get up and move again,” he explained. “But we have some things to make sandwiches.”

Ms. Iero walked out and smiled softly. 

“Why don’t you go out for lunch,” she suggested. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Frank said. 

“No, you two go alone,” she said. 

“I-I can go out without you?” Frank asked in shock. 

“For an hour and then I want you back home,” she said. “And if you start showing any bolts then come home.”

“Awesome!” Frank exclaimed, hurrying out excitedly. 

“Watch out for him,” she said, handing me some money. “He’s excited and you know how he gets when he’s excited.”

I nodded, going out to where Frank was sitting in the passenger seat of my car excitedly. I drove us to a nearby cafe and we ordered our food before sitting at a table. 

“You don’t go out much,” I guessed. 

“Not without my mom, and even with my mom is rare,” he said. “The only place I get to go alone is school. I’ve never been out without her before. She’s scared my curse might to haywire and someone’s gonna find out about it and we’re gonna have to move again. I feel bad, because of me she has no life. She can’t date people and she doesn’t have friends. She’s had to leave her family behind.”

“But she’s your mom and she loves you, she would do anything for you,” I said. “And I bet she doesn’t even care as long as that means protecting you.”

Frank nodded and ate his salad quietly. 

“Your mom hasn’t dated anyone?” I asked 

“She doesn’t want anyone near me that could potentially harm me,” he said. “But I’m hoping that we’ll get to stay for a little while, maybe she’ll meet someone that makes her happy like you do for me.”

I smiled, reaching across the table to hold his hand. 

“You make me happy too,” I said. 

“I’ve been having less mood swings and stuff,” he said. “I think you just keep me calm.”

I smiled, finishing up my food. 

“We have about twenty minutes, let’s go for a little walk in the park,” I suggested and Frank nodded excitedly. 

We went to a nearby park and walked through the little trail in the trees. Frank kept stopping and gasping excitedly whenever he saw a flower or a bird or a squirrel.

“Oh my god, is that’s bunny? It’s so cute!” He cooed. “I wanna give it a hug!”

I smiled as Frank tried to chase after the bunny but it hopped away. I held his hand, pulling him into the trees with a giggle as we saw some other hikers. 

“I feel like a real teenager,” Frank said, a huge grin on his face. 

I smiled, leaning back against the tree and pulled him against me. I kissed him roughly and he moaned, holding my hips. My hands tangled into his hair and there were thankfully no sparks as his hips pressed against mine. He whimpered, rutting his hips forward desperately. 

“Wait, Wait,” I breathed. “We don’t have time for anything.”

I wish we did, he seemed to be finally out of his head and in the moment rather than being scared. 

“Oh,” he mumbled, taking a step back. 

“But maybe we can go home and do something,” I said. 

We went home and to his room and we tried again to get back into the mojo but Frank was in his head again and nervous, shocking me too much. Instead we just cuddled and I held him in my arms, listening to his happy humming.


	11. Chapter 10

“So how did your parents realize that you had powers?” I asked. 

“My mom knew I was different ever since I was born,” Frank said. “Apparently weird things happened, lights went out and cupboards flew open. But it wasn’t until I was a few months old and my dad tried to play peek-a-boo with me. I thought that he was actually gone and I got scared and apparently I had blown out a light. They weren’t sure if it was me though until I got angry when they took away my bottle and I lit the table on fire. That’s when they really realized that I was fucked up.”

“You’re not fucked,” I denied. “You’re the most amazing person to ever live.”

“But—“

“You can’t deny it,” I interrupted. “You’re amazing.”

“Yeah, well, apparently also when I was younger I would get out of my crib and crawl into their bed and they couldn’t figure out how I was doing that because I could barely walk let alone climb out of a crib and so they set up a camera one night and saw me actually fly out of my crib,” he said. 

I giggled. “That’s must’ve been a shock.”

“Yeah, my parents tried to stop the curse,, you saw that in the trials,” he said. “And they sucked but I wanted it to work unfortunately we only found temporary fixes like my gloves and the small bolts and fire with drenching me in water.”

I gave him a soft kiss and he smiled. 

“Are you staying the night?” Frank asked. 

“Yeah,” I said. “If you want me to.”

“I do,” he said. 

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him. I knew he loved hugs and cuddles, probably more than he’ll ever love sex. 

“Are there other people out there like you?” I asked. 

“How could there be?” He asked. “I’m a freak.”

“But your grandma must’ve gotten the formula or recipe or whatever it is for the tea from somewhere, how could she have made it up herself?” I asked. 

“If there were people like me my mom would’ve told me,” Frank stated. “Why would she let me be so lonely?”

“Maybe she thought it would be best for you,” I said. “Maybe she was scared of somehow losing you.”

“Trust me, if there were other people like me then I would know about it,” he said. 

Frank didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it so I dropped it, my hand running over his chest gently. 

“Maybe you can talk to your grandma about it,” I suggested. 

“I wish, maybe she’d be able to help fix me but she isn’t doing so well with her memory,” he said. “Half the time she thinks she’s in high school in the 50s again.”

“So the only source of what happened to you is basically gone?” I asked. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what’ll happen to me,” he said. “I think to die I may just need to be decapitated.”

“Please don’t talk about dying,” I mumbled. “I don’t want to think about that.”

“But…Maybe we can live together forever, I can keep you from dying,” he said. “I always expected just my mom and I but maybe it doesn’t have to just be us, you can be here too.”

“We’d be so old we can hardly move,” I said. “Just old and wrinkly.”

“No, we won’t,” he denied. “I can keep us young, we’d technically be a thousand years old but could look and feel like we’re twenty, it’s part of the blue flames. My mom is forty-five.”

“Seriously?” I asked. “She looks thirty.”

“Because I have the blue flames,” he said. “I help keep her young.”

“You sound like Rapunzel from the Disney movie Tangled,” I said. 

“Sort of But I’m telling you, we can be together forever,” he said. 

“Are you really seventeen or are you actually like a fifty year old pretending to be younger?” I asked. 

“God no, why would I want to be this young?” He asked. “I want to look older so I can do things like get tattoos and piercings easier because I look too young.”

“How do you get them?” I asked. “I wouldn’t the blue flames reject it? Don’t you get nervous and spark up?”

“I don’t get nervous, I don’t know why but I think it’s just because I love getting tattoos and I know it won’t hurt me so it doesn’t scare me,” he said. “And my body doesn’t reject it because it’s not actually harmful to me. It’s like putting a sticker on my arm, it won’t hurt and it won’t affect the way my body works. like medicine doesn’t work on me even though it isn’t harmful, it’s meant to help but because it changes the way that my body works—like anxiety medicine helps me relax—then it doesn’t work because it can’t change the functionality of my body.”

“That’s interesting,” I said. “You’re really interesting. I could spend hours just listening to you talk about yourself.”

“I want to try another trial,” he said. 

“Another trial?” I asked. 

“Maybe if I do something to kill myself then it would use up so much energy it would burn out my curse forever,” he said. 

“No, you can’t do that,” I denied. “I won’t let you hurt yourself again.”

“Again?” He asked. “My mom told you?”

“I-it may have come up,” I mumbled. 

“But I wouldn’t be trying to end my life, just end my powers,” he said. 

“How would you do that?” I asked. 

“With a stronger poison than before,” he said. “Cyanide.”

“No,” I denied. “You can’t. Do you know how lethal that shit is?”

“Why is why it would be perfect,” he said. “My body would use so much energy trying to save itself that it would burn out and my curse would be gone.”

“You could die,” I stated. 

“But I can't die,” he said. “I either burn out my curse or I continue living with it.”

“Frank, where the hell would you even get cyanide from?” I asked. 

“My mom can get that stuff,” He said. “It’s worth a shot.”

“What if your powers burn out before it has time to fully heal you?” I asked. 

“Then I’ll be free from the curse either way,” he mumbled. 

I caressed his cheek gently and he looked up at me, his green eyes having another tinge of a glow to it but it might’ve just been the light. 

“I would miss you,” I said. 

“You know I would want you to be happy and healthy and to move on,” he said. 

“B-but it’s not that simple,” I whimpered. “I can’t do that. I’ve never liked someone as much as I’ve liked you before.”

Frank smiled and held out his hand, a sketchbook flying off his hand into his grip. 

“C-can I show you something?” He asked. 

I nodded and he sat up, opening the sketchbook. I gasped at the amazing, life-like pieces of art. 

“Wow, you’re really talented,” I said. 

“You practice a lot when you’re never able to go outside,” he said. 

Frank flipped the pages until he landed on one of me that made him blush. It showed me sleeping, my hair gently rested over my cheeks. 

“This is amazing,” I said, noticing the nervous sparks on his hands and I made sure to not touch him. “God, you’re really fucking talented.”

There were more drawings of me smiling and laughing and others more brooding.

“Sorry, you’re just so pretty I couldn’t not draw you,” he said. 

“Hey, Junior!” Ms. Iero called. “Make sure you two don’t stay up too late, I’m heading to bed now.”

“Okay!” Frank replied. 

He let me have the sketchbook and I looked through it as he changed into a pair of pajamas. 

“Frank, you can’t go through with the cyanide,” I said quietly. “You could get hurt, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I know but it’s worth a shot,” he said. “And if something does happen to me then I want you to keep that. Keep anything you want in this room.”

I got to the back and my heart stopped when I saw what looked like a suicide note. 

_When I’m gone I want you to be happy, mom. You’ve done everything for me and I owe you everything. I want you to keep the happy memories, all the road trips we took singing along to music until our throats hurt (well, until yours hurt, mine can’t hurt). But you deserve to have a life that doesn’t revolve around me, you should settle down and fall in love again and be happy. I love you._

“What is this?” I asked. 

“A will,” he said. “Well, not really. I’m not giving anything away. It’s just a letter for my mom so maybe she isn’t so heartbroken.”

“You’re her only child,” I whispered. “Of course she would be heartbroken. She loves you more than anything. You are her life.”

“I don’t want to be her life,” he said. “I want her to be free from the burden of myself. I don’t want her to stay closed in and scared of anyone seeing me.”

“Frank, you do know that she doesn’t care about any of that as long as she has you, right?” I asked.

Frank didn’t say anything, just held his hand up. The sketchbook flew through the air and closed itself before placing itself on his desk. His drawer opened and a pair of pajama pants floated over and landed into my lap.

“God, I will never get over how fucking cool that is,” I said.

“It comes in handy, probably the only part of my curse that I would miss,” he admitted. “The rest of it is shit. The telekinesis I can control myself but the other shit I can’t, that’s mostly controlled by emotions and sometimes my emotions get the best of me, even when I don’t want them to.”

“Can you control the other powers or is it only based on emotion?” I asked.

“I can control them too, but emotions override control,” he said, holding up one hand that erupted into flames and his other hand that was coursing with electricity.

“That’s really cool,” I said.

Frank shook out his hands and the powers died down. I changed into the pajama pants and we curled up in bed together.

“You’re sleeping with the gloves on?” I asked, looking at his gloves.

“Just in case,” he said.

“You don’t need those around me,” I said. “You don’t still get nervous around me, do you?”

“Sometimes I have nightmares, I don’t want to get scared and shock you,” he said.

“You have nightmares?” I asked curiously. “About what? Maybe you can talk about it?”

“No, I can’t talk about it,” he denied. “It’s just a lot of shit that I’ve been through, more than you could ever really comprehend. It haunts me but it’s gotten better since I’ve met you. You’ve begun to fill my dreams instead, you keep me happier.”

I gave him a soft kiss, curling up close to him. My fingers ran through his hair and I watched him sleep before finally dozing off myself.


	12. Chapter 11

“Mr. Iero, can you please read the next section aloud?” The teacher asked.

Frank stared at her, blinking a few times.

“Mr. Iero,” she repeated.

Frank didn’t respond.

“Frank, that’s you,” I whispered and he looked at me with a small frown. “That’s your name.”

“Oh fuck, I forgot,” he muttered. “Sorry.”

Frank read out the section and when he was done he sat shyly and I knew he was embarrassed that he had forgotten his own name. But in his defense, he’s only had it for a little while. 

“So, my mom and I are going up to my grandma’s this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to come,” Frank said. “We’re leaving tonight and I know it’s a little last minute, I’m sorry but this is a last minute trip.”

“Yeah, I would love to go,” I said. “I just have to ask my mom.”

I drove us home and I went inside to where my mom was. 

“Hey, mom, can I go with Frank and his mom to his grandma’s tonight?” I asked. 

“Is this the boy who moved in down the street?” She asked and I nodded. “You two have been spending a lot of time together lately.”

“So, can I go?” I asked. 

“Not until I meet his parents,” she said. 

“Why?” I asked. “His mom’s nice.”

“I need to meet her first,” she stated. “Invite them over for coffee.”

“Frank too?” I asked nervously and she nodded. 

I bit my lip before going down the street to Frank’s. 

“Hey, my mom wanted to meet you guys before I can go,” I said. 

“Oh, um, y-yeah, we can go over for a little,” she said 

Frank looked panicked and I saw lightning bolts dance over his skin. 

“We’ll be down there in a minute,” she said and I nodded before heading back home.

“They’ll be over in a minute but Frank is, like, really shy so he might not talk,” I said. 

My mom nodded and I anxiously sat by the door until they finally came. 

“Mom, this is Frank and his mom,” I introduced. 

“Linda,” Ms. Iero said, holding her hand out. 

“I’m Donna,” my mom said, shaking it with a smile. “And you’re Frank?”

Frank looked at my mom nervously before hiding slightly behind his own mom. 

“So, you’re going to visit your mom and want Gerard to come?” My mom asked as we sat on the couches. 

“Yeah, Frank gets a little lonely there because there isn’t much for him to do so he wanted to bring Gerard,” Ms. Iero said. 

“Where does she live?” My mom asked. 

“About an hour down south, near the coast,” she said. “We were gonna leave soon and stay until Sunday night.”

“Can we go upstairs?” I asked. 

She nodded and I went upstairs with Frank. 

“You okay?” I asked, holding his hand. 

He nodded and I gave him a kiss. I sat on the bed and sighed. 

“Should I start packing?” I asked. 

“I hope,” Frank mumbled. 

I looked at him and he looked away with a blush. 

“You’re so cute,” I said. 

Frank’s blush deepened and he hid his face behind his gloved hands. 

“How long do you think they’re gonna talk for?” Frank asked. 

“Why? Are you uncomfortable in my house?” I asked. 

“I-I don’t know, maybe a little,” he admitted. “I’ve only been here a couple of times.”

We stayed up in my room for a little while before he left and my mom told me we could go with them. I smiled happily and packed up my things into a bag before waving her goodbye and heading to Frank’s. We got into the car and I smiled, holding Frank’s hand. 

“Alright, we’re gonna stop by a drive through,” Ms. Iero said. 

We went through a restaurant that I didn’t recognize. 

“I’m vegetarian and so we have to go different places other than McDonald’s,” he said. “It's a little more pricey but there isn’t much other choice.”

“But it’s healthy and good,” Ms. Iero said. “I already know you want a tofu burger, Frank. What would you like, Gerard?”

“A tofu burger is good for me too,” I said.

She ordered the food and we began driving again.

“This is actually pretty good,” I said. “Never knew tofu could be so good.”

I smiled and nodded, curling up to his side. We listened to music from his phone, an earbud in each of our ears as we sat silently. I looked around when we started getting down through a winding path in the woods as civilization left us. There was a bit of worry now inkling in the back of my mind but I ignored it, holding Frank’s hand a little tighter and he squeezed it gently.

There was a house that we pulled up to in a clearing in the middle of the woods. It was surrounded by a small field filled with flowers. The house was small, like a sweet little cottage with a wrap around porch. There were rocking chairs on the porch and we pulled up to the driveway. We went in and I looked around.

It looked like a typical old ladies house. There was a couch with a floral pattern and floral patterned wallpaper. On the armrest of the couch was a fat, fluffy cat and there were colorful dishes by the sink. An old box tv sat against the wall in front of the tv, a box of sewing materials and yarn sitting on top of it.

“Hello, Rufus,” Frank said, petting the cat’s head.

“Junior, is that you?” Someone asked.

A little old lady came over and gave me a hug.

“Grandma, I’m Junior,” Frank said. “This is my friend, Gerard.”

“Oh,” she said.

She went over and hugged Frank instead before going to hug Ms. Iero.

“Hey, mom, do you have your old contact book still?” Ms. Iero asked.

“Why?” She asked.

“I need one of your old contacts to get some cyanide,” she said.

“It’s in the study, dear,” his grandma said.

I scowled and Frank brought me upstairs to what I assumed was his room from the old Star Wars bed set and the stuffed animals. I picked up a little stuffed animal that was stitched up and patched multiple times from what looked like burns.

“You’re coming here just to get the cyanide?” I asked. “Frankie, you don’t need to do this, you’re perfect just the way you are, you shouldn’t get rid of your powers.”

“They aren’t powers, Gerard, it’s a fucking curse and I wasn’t supposed to be born like this,” he said. “It doesn’t make me cool or special, it makes me a dangerous freak.”

I frowned quietly, wrapping my arms around him. Frank pushed his bag towards the wall and I laid on the twin sized bed. Frank joined me and I giggled as he laid in between my legs. We kissed roughly but when I tugged lightly at his shirt I received a shock that made me curse in pain.

“Sorry, sorry,” he muttered as he pulled away. “I know I have to just get out of my head but I really just don’t know how and I keep getting all nervous.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “We never have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

“The problem is that I do,” he said. “I want to be able to do stuff with you but I just get so nervous. God, why does my fucking brain have to get in the way of everything.”

I sat up, holding his hand.

“Baby, it’s okay,” I said. “You’re gonna be okay even if you keep your powers.”

We went back downstairs and sat on the couch. His mom was on the phone in the other room and his grandma was on the porch. Rufus the cat came over, curling up on Frank’s lap.

“Your grandma lives here alone?” I asked. “Isn’t her memory not so good anymore?”

“My aunt usually lives here with her but since we’re here she’s going away for the weekend,” he said.

“Is your grandma okay with you being gay or should we pretend to just be friends here?” I asked. “I always have to act straight around me grandma.”

“Oh, no, she’s okay,” he said. “She’s really accepting and she said that when she was a teenager she had a girlfriend for a little bit.”

I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder. 

“I wanna go outside,” he said. “This place is secluded so I can use my curse whenever I want.”

“I thought you don’t like to use it,” I said.

“Not really but I love to fly,” he said.

I followed him out and smiled as I watched him fly around.

“Junior,” his grandma said to me. “Junior, can you get Rufus?”

I picked Rufus up and handed him to her.

“I’m not Junior,” I said. “I’m Gerard.”

“Gerard?” She asked. “That’s the name your mom has picked for you now? I thought you were sticking to Frank.”

“N-no, I’m not Junior,” I said. “He’s up there.”

I pointed to Frank, who was floating in the air staring up at the clouds before he flew up towards them. 

“Oh, yes,” she mumbled. “Who are you?”

“I’m his boyfriend, Gerard,” I said.

“Have you seen my Rufus?” She asked. “He used to be a prize worthy cat.”

“He’s very pretty,” I said, looking at the fat calico cat.

She went inside to feed Rufus and I heard Ms. Iero in there trying to remind her that the cat has already been fed. That would explain the fatness, his grandma forgets he’s fed but keeps feeding him.

“Baby, come here,” he said. “Fly with me.”

“I can’t,” I denied.

Frank landed down in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He picked me up and I gasped as the ground suddenly disappeared. I clung to Frank nervously before relaxing, smiling as I looked at the sunset from the view over the trees. I could see the water and it glistened from the deep sun that was setting.

“Wow,” I mumbled.

Frank held me in his arms in the sky until we were called for dinner. I grabbed a shower after I was done and found it to be quiet and dark when I got out and his mom and grandma were asleep. I dressed into some pajamas before going down to find Frank. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, empty bottles of liquor surrounding him as he cried.

“Baby, Baby, oh my god,” I gasped.

I sat beside him, wiping his cheeks.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “Oh god, you drank all of this? You could have alcohol poisoning, we need to get you to the hospital. Why would you do this?”

“I-I’m trying to get out of my head,” he whimpered.

“We need to get you to the hospital,” I said.

“No, it’s okay,” he said. “Alcohol doesn’t have any effect on me.”

“Then why would you do this?” I asked.

“I was hoping that maybe it would actually work and I would get drunk enough to be able to relax so that way we could do something together,” he said.

“It’s okay, Baby, we’ll just wait, take it slow,” I said. “In the right moment it’ll be sweet and slow and relaxing and perfect. In the right moment it won’t be so scary.”

Frank sniffled and nodded and I helped him upstairs and we curled up in bed before finally falling asleep.


	13. Chapter 12

I held Frank’s hand as we walked along the coast of the water. I pulled my hoodie sleeves down a bit, the chilly wind surrounding us. We went through the woods where there was a stream and a little pond. We sat next to it on the blanket he laid out and he smiled, playing with the grass.

“I used to always come here when I was younger,” he said. “It’s really peaceful here.”

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him.

“You’re so sweet,” I said.

I kissed him softly and he smiled. My arms wrapped around him and I kissed him a little rougher. We laid on the blanket together and I pulled him over me. He thankfully didn’t seem to be too nervous and wasn’t stuck in his head, there were only little shocks.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Frank nodded and I pulled off his shirt. He kissed my neck gently and I whimpered. He pulled me close and his hips slowly rolled down against me. My face flushed and I pulled off my shirt and his hands began to fumble with my belt. By the time we were free of our clothes we were already hard and I wrapped a hand around his erection.

“I-I want you to fuck me,” I whispered.

He gasped, pulling me close. He kissed my neck and I moaned, wrapping my legs around his waist. Frank spin on his hand and slicked himself up before he started pushing in and I gasped, shaking my head.

“Frank, wh--you can’t do that, it hurts,” I said. “You have to stretch me first.”

“I-it hurts?” He asked nervously, a small bolt of electricity zapping me.

I nodded and he let out the blue flames, resting it on my hip. Frank started pushing into me again and I didn’t feel any pain at all this time. There was only pure bliss as he pushed in all the way.

“Holy fuck,” I moaned.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

I nodded and he took a deep breath before pulling out slightly and snapping his hips back in.

“Oh fuck,” I whimpered

There was no pain at all, just pure pleasure washing over me. I moaned, rocking my hips up. It was nothing but pure bliss and it quickly had me shaking beneath him. Frank hit my prostate and I cried out, begging for him to keep going. 

“H-harder,” I gasped. 

Frank buried his face into the crook of my neck as he snapped his hips forward. The familiar pooling of heat was beginning to build up in the pit of my stomach. I moaned, my hands pulling at his hair. He snapped his hips harder and I cried out, my head falling back. 

Frank came, moaning as his hips bucked forward. He pulled out and shuddered, taking a deep breath. I whimpered, looking up at him desperately. He seemed to realize how fast he finished and let out a nervous shock, which zapped my thighs and I moaned softly. 

“Please,” I begged. 

Frank bent down and took me into his mouth straight to the base and I cried out at the wet warmth that surrounded me. He let me snap my hips up into his mouth with ease and my hand tightened in his hair. His tongue pressed to my underside and I came in his mouth a little bit later. 

He curled up next to me and blushed. I was still taken aback, trying to catch my breath after what happened. 

“Holy…holy fuck,” I breathed. 

“Sorry if I was bad and came too early,” he mumbled. 

“That was the best sex I’ve ever had,” I said. “Best blowjob too.”

“I have no gag reflex,” he said. “Part of my curse. Was I really okay?”

“Frankie, there was literally no pain because of your powers, you were amazing,” I said. “It was the best sex that I’ve ever had. And you don’t have to worry about finishing too fast because you were absolutely perfect. Was I okay? I don’t know how to really compete with someone who has no gag reflex and can make it so we don’t even need to stretch.”

“Mind blowing,” he said with a quiet giggle. “I think I forgot how to breathe for a moment. This is so much better than porn or my right hand. I-I mean, not that I masturbate a lot. I don’t. I just draw and cry. That’s even more pathetic, oh my god.”

I giggled. “It’s okay, Frankie, just relax. Why now, anyways? We’ve tried before, why would you want to have sex now?”

“I guess it’s because I’m somewhere comfortable for once,” he admitted. “This is one of my most favorite places on earth and I’m comfortable here. Plus, this wasn’t planned so I guess I didn’t have time to get myself all worked up and worried.”

My fingers ran through his hair gently and he smiled. I could feel the come dripping down my thigh and I stood up. I stepped into the water and smiled, thankful that the water here was still a little warm. I felt the sand beneath my feet, the water up to my waist when I looked back at Frank, gesturing for him to join me. 

“I can’t swim,” he said. 

“You don’t have to swim, it’s not that deep,” I said. 

“No, I can’t go in water,” Frank said. 

“Water doesn’t hurt you, that’s how you stop the flames,” I said. 

“I can’t, Gerard,” he stated. 

I decided not to question, much like I usually did with him. I didn’t stay in the long but got out and Frank stood up, letting me use the blanket to dry off. We got dressed and started heading back to the house. I shivered and Frank let out the blue flame, holding my hand. Warmth washed over me and I smiled. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do that again or if you get nervous again,” I said. “Just because you do something once doesn’t make it less nerve wrecking.”

“Thank you,” He said. 

We walked in and Frank ran a hand through his hair 

“Junior, you’re here,” his grandma said. “Who is this?”

“My boyfriend, Gerard,” Frank said for the millionth time this weekend. 

“Oh, boyfriend?” She asked. “That’s so sweet.”

I smiled softly and sat on the couch. 

“Mom, were you able to get the cyanide?” Frank asked. 

”It’ll take some time to get it,” she said. “We don’t have to do this. We can try something else if you want to start the trials again.”

“I don’t want a hundred more little tests. I want something to end it at once,” he stated. 

“There’s no telling what will happen,” Ms. Iero said. “We’ve never used such a lethal chemical before, we don’t know how it will effect you or your curse.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Frank stated. “I can’t live like this, I can’t be happy while I still have this curse.”

She gave him a hug, kissing his forehead. 

“You know I love you just the way you are,” she said in a soft, gentle voice. “You’re absolutely perfect and I love you no matter what, you’re my little boy.”

“I know, mama, I love you too,” Frank said. 

He gave her another hug before coming to sit beside me. 

“Let’s get pizza,” his grandma said. 

“Alright, I’ll head into town to grab some,” Ms. Iero said. “How does one cheese and one pepperoni sound?”

We nodded and she smiled before she left. Frank went over to the fireplace and stacked up some wood before lighting with his own flaming hand. 

“Oh thank you, Junior,” his grandma said. 

Rufus seemed to appreciate it too because he came over to lounge in front of it on his back. 

“Let’s get pizza,” she said. 

“Mom is on her way to get it right now,” Frank said. 

He took my hand and brought me upstairs. I smiled, giving him a kiss. 

“You know, if you keep your powers then we could have painless, amazing sex as much as we want,” I said. 

“Sex is amazing but it’s not worth the curse,” he said. “We will still be able to have sex, it’ll just be a little slower.”

“Not as bad for you, you’re not the one getting something shoved up your asshole,” I said. 

“It’ll be better, I promise,” he said. “We can go out to the movies and go to dinner and have more walks in the parks, more alone time for us going on real dates.”

“That does sound pretty nice,” I admitted. 

Frank smiled and gave me a kiss. 

“It’ll be better,” he said. “We can be so happy.”

I smiled, straddling his hips on the bed. He blushed and I felt a small shock to my hip. 

“You okay?” I asked.

He nodded and kissed my cheek. I smirked and held his face in my hands, smiling as I looked at him. 

“You’re so cute,” I mumbled. 

There was a soft glow to his eyes again and I frowned. 

“You feeling okay?” I asked, pressing a hand to his forehead. 

He didn’t feel warm. 

“Yeah, why?” He asked. 

“No flames or lightning?” I asked. 

Frank shook his head, a slight bit of worry in his face and I felt a shock as the anxiety began to built up inside of him. 

“Relax, Baby,” I said with a small smile, moving away so he didn’t shock me. “Your eyes, it just seems like they’re glowing a little.”

He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. 

“What the fuck,” he muttered.

He pulled at his skin on his cheek like that would change something. There was a glow to his eyes, making them shine green. 

“Why are my eyes glowing?” He asked. 

Frank ran downstairs when the front door opened and I chased after him. 

“Mama!” He exclaimed. 

Frank ended up shocking her and she shrieked, dropping the pizza. Frank quickly made her feel better with the blue flames. I grabbed the boxes, setting them on the counter. Thankfully none of the pizza fell out of the boxes. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked. 

“My eyes are glowing!” Frank cried. 

“Alright, Sweetheart, sit down, no need to get yourself all worked up,” she said. 

We sat on the couch and he calmed down enough so she could touch him with only minor shocks. They weren’t glowing as much now but we’re still slightly luminescent. 

“When does this happen?” She asked. 

“We were upstairs just talking,” Frank said. 

“It’s happened before but I thought it was just a trick of the lights,” I said. 

“You two were together?” She asked and We nodded. “This used to happen when Frank was younger with his stuffed animals. His eyes glow when he loves something.”


	14. Chapter 13

Frank and I haven’t talked about the whole love thing but I really couldn’t stop thinking about it. Frank loves me? I didn’t know if I loved him. I knew that I really, really like him. But do I love him?

Frank hid his face slightly, and I smiled. 

“Baby, come on, you have to look at me at some point,” I said. 

We came back from his grandma’s last week and I was hanging out at his house on this Friday night.

Frank looked at me and I saw his eyes glowing, which made me grin.

“Stop! It’s embarrassing!” He exclaimed. 

“No it’s not, it’s adorable,” I said. 

He shook his head, burying his face into the pillow. I ran my fingers through his hair, feeling soft zaps. I wrapped my arms around him, smiling happily. He looked over at me and I smiled at his glowing eyes. They were so beautiful but we both know it wasn’t just for looks, there was a deeper meaning to it that we were both too scared to discuss. 

“Your eyes are so pretty,” I said. 

He blushed, pressing his lips against mine. It became more heated as he tangled his hands into my hair. 

“Gerard?” He asked and I felt a nervous shock. 

“What is it?” I asked. 

“C-can I…can…” he let out a nervous whimper and I held his hand. “Can I ride you?”

I smirked and nodded, kissing him roughly. He whimpered and straddled my hips. I held his hips, my hands running up over his sides. There were small shocks and he pulled away. 

“Maybe we can do it another time,” I suggested. 

Frank sparked up and nodded, laying down next to me. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just get nervous, you know that.”

I smiled and nodded, holding his hand. He held up his hand and the laptop floated over and landed in his lap. We sat up and he turned on Netflix. He ended up falling asleep and I smiled, running my fingers through his hair. He’s always so tired, I wish I could make it better for him. 

I took the laptop and let him sleep. I went to google and bit my lip, watching my cursor blink in the search bar under the colorful letters. I finally typed in ‘people with magic powers’ to see what I could find. 

I clicked on the first video and frowned when I heard the intro, skipping forward ahead. There was some guy who had psychic powers and predicted Jupiter’s rings before NASA did. Another guy used telekinesis to wave around cards and money. There was another psychic guy who could guess what cards were on most cards. Some man could take pictures of his thoughts. The last guy listed over twenty thousand numbers of pi accurately. 

I went back to google and searched ‘where to find people with magic powers’ this time. There were random internet groups of random people claiming to have powers but I don’t believe any of them because there was no video proof. There was some internet groups that you need to pay to be part of. I tried finding more but none of them seemed real or legit. 

“Hey, Baby,” I said softly, shaking Frank’s shoulder. 

He woke up, yawning as he rubbed his eyes. 

“Did I fall asleep?” He mumbled. 

I smiled softly and nodded, kissing his cheek. I showed him the video I watched and he sighed. 

“It’s fake,” He said. 

“What? how could this possibly be fake?” I asked. 

“By it not being real,” he said. 

“There’s video proof,” I said. 

“Oh yeah and the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are real because there’s video proof of it,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

I scowled, swatting his shoulder. 

“What about the guy on the street, it could be real, there’s no strings because he’s waving his hands all around it,” I said. 

“If he really had powers he wouldn’t be doing that,” Frank stated. “The government would be all over him, he wouldn’t be so open about it.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “I-I guess that does make sense.”

“I’m the only one, Baby,” he said. “But that’s okay, soon I can maybe be normal again.”

“Please don’t do the cyanide,” I whimpered. “You don’t know what will happen. It might not work at all. It could hurt you.”

“Baby, it’s okay,” he said. “I have to try. I need to do this. I need to get rid of my curse.”

My eyes watered and Frank sat up, looking at me in concern. He held up the blue flame and held it to my chest and I felt all the sadness and worry wash away. 

“Stop,” I mumbled, hitting his hand away. “I want to be sad.”

“Y-you do?” Frank asked. 

“Emotions aren’t a bad thing,” I said. 

“But…they don’t feel good,” he mumbled. 

“Because you feel emotions to the extreme,” I said. “But emotions aren’t always bad, they can be really good, even the sad ones.”

I gently caressed his cheek and his eyes began to glow, making me smile. 

“Is it happening again?” He asked. 

I nodded, giving him a kiss. He frowned unhappily and I giggled. 

“It’s adorable,” I said. “And you shouldn’t take away your powers because then you’d lose all these cool things.”

“They aren’t cool,” Frank denied. “They do nothing but ruin my life.”

“It can’t be so bad,” I said. 

“You don’t know,” he said. “You don’t fucking know what I’ve been through.”

I closed my mouth, deciding not to press the issue any further when I really didn’t know a whole lot about his past. 

“When are you getting the cyanide then?” I asked. 

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “My mom is currently talking to a couple people and negotiating but it will probably take some time.”

“I’ll be here for it,” I promised. “I’ll hold your hand.”

Frank smiled softly and the glow intensified slightly. 

“Thank you for supporting me even though you really don’t like the idea of it,” he said. 

“Of course, I’m here with you through anything,” I said. 

He smiled, holding my hand. 

“I’m glad that you don’t think I’m a freak because I’m really glad that I met you,” he said. 

“Frankie, I know that you don’t want to talk about it but I just have one question,” I said and he looked at me. “Have you ever tried to find someone who is like you?”

Frank sighed. “Yeah, when I was younger. I used to think there were people like me and I would watch videos like those but when I got older I realized that they were fake and I just lost hope and I realized that there was no one like me. I tried but realized that there wasn’t anyone else like me. It’s lonely, I’m the only one like me. I feel alone in the world.”

“You’ve got me now, you’ll never be alone,” I said.

I gave me a kiss and he blushed.

“What time is it?” He asked.

“It’s almost midnight,” I said.

Frank sighed, laying his head down against my chest. I smiled as I looked down at him.

“I can hear your heart racing,” he whispered.

I smiled, holding his hand. I gave his knuckles a soft kiss and his cheeks deepened to a darker red that he tried to hide by burying his face into my chest.

“You’re so cute,” I said and he let out an embarrassed whine. “God, you’re really so fucking beautiful, I’m so glad that I was the luckiest person on earth to be able to meet you.”

I giggled at his embarrassed whimper, pulling him close. He was so shy, burying his face into my shoulder as he straddled my hips.

“And your shyness is even cuter,” I said. “I love it when you get all flustered.”

I felt his weight lighten up before it was gone completely and I saw him floating above me. He had a big smile on his face but his cheeks were still burning red and his eyes were glowing green.

“You’re the sweetest,” I said.

He lowered himself down into my lap, burying his face into my shoulder again. I wrapped my arms around him as I smiled. He eventually calmed down, laying in my lap as he played with my hair.

“W-will you still like me even if I lose my curse?” He asked quietly. “Or do you only talk to me because of it because it makes me different and weird.”

“No, Baby, of course, I’ll still like you just the same,” I promised. “With or without your powers. It’s not your powers that make you who you are, it’s who you choose to be and how you choose to act. Your powers don’t make you who you are, it’s your actions that make you who you are.”

Frank smiled softly as he looked at me with those glowing eyes again.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “I-I don’t think I’m a good person but I think that I feel a little bit better when I’m with you. I want to be a good person but I’m not.”

“A bad person wouldn’t worry about being a good person,” I said. “You’re good, inside and out.”

Frank gave me a kiss and I wrapped my arms around his waist as I pulled him close. He seemed a lot more relaxed more from how casual and slow we were being.

“D-do you wanna ride me?” I asked.

“No, not this time,” he said. “Maybe next time.”

“That’s okay, Baby,” I said, caressing my cheek softly. “And it’s good because I want you to fuck me hard and fast.”

Frank blushed and giggled and I laid with him on the bed, pulling him close so we could spend the rest of the night wrapped in each other’s arms.


	15. Chapter 14

I was on my knees in front of Frank, gagging on him lightly as he moaned. My eyes watered as I took him deeper and I could feel his knees nearly buckle as he gasped. I made eye contact with him and Frank pulled away. 

“Y-you’re crying,” he said, his lip quivering. “I-I’m Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No,” I denied, standing up. “Not crying, just gagging and gagging makes your eyes water.”

“Oh,” he mumbled. 

I sniffled, holding his hand. I pulled him back to the mattress, kissing him roughly. He seemed to be letting me take control as I pulled off his shirt and his jeans were chucked aside. I pulled Frank to the edge of the bed and pushed his legs open a little bit wider. I sat on my knees, my tongue ran over his hole and he cried out. His thighs tightened around my head and his hand curled into my hair. 

“W-Wait,” he whimpered. “Stop, I’m gonna come.”

I frowned in confusion as I pulled away. 

“You don’t wanna come?” I asked. 

“I-I wanna ride you,” he whispered. 

I smiled and pulled my shirt off. I shucked off my jeans and boxers, kissing him as I crawled onto the bed and laid on my back. Frank straddled my hips and my eyes widened when he positioned himself over me. 

“W-Wait, you need to be stretched,” I said. “Im not even slicked up—“

I was cut off when Frank slammed himself down onto me, reminding me all too much that Frank doesn’t feel pain. I was gasping for breath, waves of pleasure wrapping around my brain. 

“H-holy—oh holy fuck,” I moaned. 

I looked up at Frank, his jaw dropped with his hands pressed to my chest. He whimpered, slowly grinding his hips. I held his hips, lifting him up before slamming him back down. 

“Oh fuck,” he whimpered. 

Frank bounced on my lap, crying out desperately as his nails raked over my chest. He changed his angle slightly and let out a loud whine when I hit his prostate. 

It was going so fast and although I wanted to slow down and make it last longer, I wanted nothing more than to just finish right then and there. 

“Shit, Frank,” I groaned. 

I snapped my hips upwards and Frank gasped. He rolled his hips, kissing me roughly. I moaned against his lips, sweat building up between us. My hand tangled into his hair, my other still gripping his hip so hard it would leave bruises if he could bruise. 

“I-I’m gonna come,” he whimpered. 

He was tensing up and I could tell that he was close, trying his hardest not to finish but his hips began to slow down. I flipped us over, pushing him down against the mattress. I pulled his legs up over my shoulders before slamming into him. Frank cried out, legs tense and shaking. 

“Oh please, harder,” he begged. 

I held his hips as I slammed into him. The pleasure was starting to build up but I wanted to make him come first. Changed the angle a bit and Frank was nearly in shambles as he came untouched, his hips jerking. I could feel him tightening around me, spurring me on as my thrusts became erratic and uneven. I came undone finishing inside him with a loud groan. I pulled out, laying down next to him. 

“Shit,” he breathed. 

“Was that okay?” I asked. 

“Oh god, more than okay,” he said. “I didn’t know being a bottom could be so amazing.”

“It helps when you feel no pain,” I said. 

Frank pushed his sweaty hair back from his face and I smiled at him, leaning over to give him a kiss. 

“You’re so cute,” I mumbled. 

He blushed, looking at me with those glowing eyes. 

“Frank, I-I think I’m falling in love with you,” I whispered. 

Frank’s eyes widened, his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. 

“Y-you do?” He asked. “F-for real? Really?”

“Of course,” I said. 

Frank whimpered and buried his face into my chest. I knew he felt the same way and he didn’t even have to say it, his eyes told me. It was scary, though. Being in love is scary. I wasn’t sure if it was real love but maybe it was. I really hoped it was. My heart raced when I was near him, I always wanted to be near him when we were apart.

I heard a quiet sniffle and realized that Frank was crying. I frowned in confusion, turning his head to look up at me while I gently cupped his cheek. 

“Baby, why are you crying?” I asked.

“I-I don’t know,” he whimpered. “I’m just happy. I just can’t believe that I met you. I didn’t think that I would ever find someone like you and I’m really glad that I was able to meet you because you’re so supportive and accepting and you make me so happy and sometimes you almost make it seem like my curse isn’t so bad. And...I-I think...I lov--”

Frank cut himself off with a nervous whimper and I saw the lightning bolts dancing along his fingertips. There were a couple small shocks but they didn’t hurt too bad. Frank hid his face behind his hands and I giggled.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I get so nervous a lot and I hate it and--”

“Hey,” I interrupted in a soft voice. “It’s okay, I know.”

Frank relaxed and gave me a kiss. 

“Can we go watch a movie?” He asked.

I nodded and we both changed into some pajamas and I borrowed some of Frank’s. We were deciding what movie to watch when his mom walked in with a smile.

“Hey, did you two eat dinner?” She asked.

“Yeah, we got some pizza,” Frank said.

“Alright, I’m gonna head to bed then,” she said. “Will you two keep it down a bit, please?”

“Of course, mama,” Frank said.

Ms. Iero smiled and kissed the top of his head. She even gave me a small hug and I smiled before she went upstairs.

“Where was she at?” I asked.

“She was visiting my grandma and she also was getting the cyanide,” he said.

“Sh-she got it already?” I asked.

“She should have,” he said. “She told me we could try it tomorrow.”

My stomach dropped as I looked away, my eyes watering.

“S-so, what movie do you wanna watch?” I asked.

“Let’s watch a horror movie,” he said.

“I thought you hated horror movies,” I said.

“Yeah but I wanna try to watch one,” he said. “I mean, people must like them for a reason and that must mean that they’re good and I should give it a try. Pick one out, I don’t know which ones are good.”

I decided on Chucky after searching through the Netflix horror section and sat with him on the couch with the lights turned off. Frank seemed to get increasingly more scared during the duration of the movie and soon we weren’t touching because he was beginning to spark up. A particularly loud jumpscare made Frank jump and scream, a large lightning bolt shooting out and the light in the hall burst and the tv shut off.

I looked over at Frank in the dark, hearing his quiet whimpers as he cried, trying to catch his breath.

“Frank!” His mom shouted from upstairs. “What did I tell you about watching horror movies?!”

She came downstairs and Frank went to the garage and soon the power came back on. When I looked out the window it seemed half the block’s power went out.

“Frankie, you know you’re not allowed to watch horror movies,” she said.

“I-I wanted to see what it was like,” Frank said.

Ms. Iero sighed, gently wiping away his tears.

“Can we please do the cyanide now?” Frank asked.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“Please, there’s no point in waiting until tomorrow,” he said.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll make you a hot chocolate, okay?”

Frank nodded and my eyes watered as I looked at Frank.

“Please don’t,” I whispered.

“Gerard, you know I have to, I can’t live like this anymore,” he said. “B-but you’ll still love me?”

“Of course I will,” I said, giving him a kiss.

He was sparking up again but there was still a glow in his eyes.

“Y-you don’t know what will happen,” I whimpered. “It could hurt you.”

Frank just took a few deep breaths and I could tell that he was just as nervous as me.

“I-it’s gonna be okay,” he said.

I sniffled as we sat on the couch and his mom walked in with a little Winnie the Pooh mug.

“My favorite cup,” Frank said as he took the hot chocolate.

“You don’t have to do this, Baby,” Ms. Iero said. “We can find a different way.”

“I need something strong and deadly,” he said. “This is laced with cyanide?”

“Yes,” she said quietly. 

“How much?” I asked.

“Enough to kill someone,” she said.

Frank looked down at the warm liquid nervously and I held his hand, ignoring the small shocks. He took a big drink before setting the mug down on the coffee table.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Frank looked at me nervously and Ms. Iero held his other hand. He began to gasp and I realized that he was having trouble breathing. Frank’s body began convulsing and Ms. Iero caught him before he fell, laying him down on the floor. His face was turning purple, foam dribbling from his mouth as he looked up at me in panic.

“It’s okay,” Ms. Iero whispered. “I got you, Baby, mama’s here.”

Frank was still seizing and gasping and it was only another minute before he went still, his eyes closed.

“I-is he okay?” I asked.

Ms. Iero sniffled and leaned down, putting her head against his chest.

“He’s breathing but it’s really shallow,” she said. “His heart is beating slow.”

I cried, going to the kitchen to get a wet paper towel to wipe off his face, which was slowly turning less purple. She put Frank onto the couch and we both waited until we heard quiet mumbles.

“Hey, Junior,” Ms. Iero said softly. “Hey, I’m right here. C-can you show me your flames?”

Frank weakly held his hand up but nothing appeared.

“O-oh my god,” she muttered. “There’s no flames.”

Frank still seemed a little out of it as he peeked his eyes open, looking over at me, the glow in his eyes gone.


	16. Chapter 15

“You sure you’re feeling okay?” I asked.

It was the next morning and I was still worried but Frank seemed to be like a normal teenager and was happier than ever.

“I’m amazing,” he said.

We went downstairs and Frank decided he wanted some hot chocolate for breakfast. He mixed the cocoa in with the water and held the mug in his hand before frowning.

“Oh wait, I forgot I can’t use the flames,” he said.

He microwaved it and sighed, going to the cabinet. He screamed suddenly and fell to the ground. I jumped in shock and his mom ran downstairs. 

“Wh-what happened?” She asked. “Are you okay?”

“I-I think my toe fell off,” he cried.

Ms. Iero moved his hands and picked up his foot.

“Did you stub your toe?” She asked.

“I-I don’t know,” Frank whimpered. “I just bumped into the fridge.”

“You stubbed your toe,” she stated. “You’ll be fine, sweetheart, just walk it off. But you have to be careful, Junior, you’ve never experienced pain before so even minor things will hurt really bad.”

Frank sniffled and nodded, wiping his eyes.

“Doesn’t hurt as much now,” he mumbled.

Ms. Iero yawned, bags under her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Frank asked.

“I was too worried about you to sleep,” she said. “I’m gonna go and try to sleep a bit now that I know you’re awake and okay.”

Frank nodded and kissed her cheek before she left. Frank got himself a bowl of cereal and sat at the counter with his hot chocolate.

“Never seen someone eat hot chocolate with Cinnamon Toast Crunch before,” I said.

“It’s probably not bad,” he said with a small shrug.

He took a sip of the hot chocolate and hissed.

“Oh fuck, that’s hot, hot hurts,” he said.

I nodded and made my own bowl of cereal.

“I feel weird,” he said. “I’m not used to having my curse.”

“Maybe we can go out for dinner tonight,” I said. 

Frank gasped and nodded. 

“I can’t afford to really bring us anywhere nice but we can have a nice, romantic McDonald’s date,” I said.

“I’m vegetarian,” he said.

“Oh yeah,” I mumbled. “Well, we can go to one of your vegan places then.”

He smiled, holding my hand.

“I don’t have to worry about hurting you from touching you now,” Frank said. “And I don’t have to wear gloves anymore! Do you know how awful it is eating fries and burgers with gloves on. It’s so gross, oh my god. Or eating ice cream and it drips over the cone and gets on my gloves.”

Frank shuddered, shaking his head at the thought.

“I’m glad that you’re happier now,” I said.

He smiled and we ate while we curled up on the couch watching cartoons while he had his second mug of hot chocolate. He was smiling the whole time, a giddiness in him that I’ve never really seen before.

“You’re the cutest,” I said.

Frank blushed and it was weird to not feel any shocks when he got all shy and flustered.

“Y-you’re…” Frank trailed off. “Can I change the channel.”

I chuckled and nodded my head. Frank held out his hand before he sighed and had to go over to pick up the remote himself.

“Missing your curse yet?” I asked.

“Hell no,” he denied as he flopped back down beside me. “Besides, I don’t think there’s a way for me to ever get them back.”

I wasn’t sad about him losing his powers, I was happy that he was happy and I loved him all the same. But it was different and weird, like a part of Frank was missing.

“You okay?” He asked.

I nodded and kissed his cheek. It would just take some time to get used to, we would both have to get used to it. It’s an adjustment for all of us, Frank most of all.

“Oh, I-I can feel my stomach gurgling,” he said. “What’s that? That’s weird.”

“That is your body telling you to chill out with the hot chocolates,” I said.

Frank looked at his mug before setting it down.

“Weird,” he muttered, resting a hand on his stomach. “I can...I can feel the liquids sloshing.”

I giggled and gave him a kiss. He changed to some other show and held my hand. Frank had another little dopey smile on his face and I couldn’t help but giggle at how cute it was. 

“Oh man, this is so weird,” he said. “I’m human for the first time.”

“You weren’t human?” I asked. 

“Well, I was human but not human human,” he said. “I was superhuman, I guess. I don’t know. I guess I’m the only one so I get to make up my own terms for anything that I want. I can call myself a fucking Megalord Magic Man if I wanted to.”

I giggled, holding Frank’s hand. I gave him a kiss, holding him close.

“Can we go on a walk?” He asked.

I nodded and the two of us got dressed and went outside. He frowned, sucking in a sharp breath.

“What is this?” He asked.

I frowned in confusion as I looked at him. 

“What?” I asked. “The fact that it’s cold out? Yeah, you’re gonna need to wear a long sleeve, it’s November.”

Frank went inside and came back out with a black hoodie. He smiled and held my hand, giving me a kiss. We walked down the street and he was happily swinging our hands between us. We walked for a little while before I could tell Frank was starting to get tired.

“My legs feel...tired,” he said. “Why?”

“Walking makes you tired,” I said.

Frank muttered unhappily and we turned to go back home. He sighed as he collapsed down on the couch. I sat next to him and he smiled but I couldn’t help but notice how dim his eyes were compared to how they had been before. I knew that it didn’t mean he cared about me less but I missed the way his eyes could tell me that he loved me because Frank was too shy to tell me that himself.

“I love you,” I said.

Frank blushed, burying his face into the pillow. I wrapped my arms around him, laying with him on the couch.

“I-I…” Frank whimpered, trying to get the words out. “I...y-you know.”

I smiled softly and he buried his face into my chest shyly. I ran my fingers through his hair, begging for the next to he looked up that I could see his glowing eyes. But when he did look up I only saw his ordinary green ones. They were still beautiful and had a small sparkle to them but none of it was magical like I had hoped.

“You don’t have to say it,” I said. 

“But I mean it,” Frank said. 

“I know you do, Baby,” I mumbled, kissing his forehead. 

Frank smiled softly and intertwined our fingers, resting his head back down against my chest. I smiled softly as I felt his heart beating fast in his chest. 

“Let’s play some video games,” he said. 

Frank got up and went to the tv, grabbing two Xbox controllers. He started up a game of Call of Duty online and I felt myself struggling as Frank made it to the top of the leaderboards. 

“How are you so good?” I asked. 

“Not allowed outside, not much else to do inside,” he said with a shrug. 

Frank sniped people with ease while I kept continuously getting killed by some guy with an assault rifle. It was beginning to frustrate me more and I sighed unhappily. 

“Frank, I’m not very good,” I admitted. 

“We’ll play something else after this round,” he said. 

I nodded and we finished up and he held out his hand before sighing unhappily. He had to go up to the tv to change the game manually and I sighed. 

“Frank, you’ve been housebound for seventeen years, don’t you wanna go outside?” I asked. 

“Eighteen,” Frank stated. 

“What?” I mumbled. 

“I’m eighteen,” frank corrected. “My birthday passed, like, two weeks ago.”

“Wh—why I didn’t you say anything?” I asked. “We could’ve had a little party or at least gotten some cake or something.”

“I don’t celebrate my birthday,” he said. 

“Why not?” I asked. “Everyone loves their birthday, even if they don’t like parties they still like their birthday.”

“I don’t, it’s the day I got my curse,” Frank stated. 

“But yesterday is the day you lost your powers,” I said. 

“Maybe that day can be my birthday then,” he said. “The day that I got my life back. The day I can finally start living.”

I smiled and Frank came over to sit on my lap. 

“I think that means that it’s a day late on your birthday and you deserve some cake,” I said. 

Frank smiled and nodded. 

“Let’s go bake a cake,” I said. 

I looked up a recipe and realized that neither of us really knew what we were doing. We mixed together all the flour and sugar and eggs. He wasn’t sure if he even had a pan but we managed to find one and poured the batter into the pan before sticking it into the oven. 

“What are you two doing?” His mom asked when she walked in. 

“Baking a cake,” Frank said with his goofy little grin. “To celebrate my birthday yesterday.”

“Your birthday was two weeks ago,” she said. 

“No, it was yesterday,” Frank said. “Your birthday is the day you were born, yesterday was when I was able to start living.”

“I guess Halloween was always a little ironic for you to be born on,” she said. “A Halloween born baby with a curse.”

“Halloween?” I asked. “That’s so cool.”

“It makes me seem even more morbid on top of my curse,” he said. “Mama, can I go out later with Gerard?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” she said. 

“But I don’t have my curse anymore, I can go out,” he stated. 

“Junior, it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, we don't know the full effects just yet,” she said. “If it’s still gone by tomorrow then…then I guess that you can go out sometimes.”

“I don’t have my curse, Mama, I can go out whenever now and we don’t have to worry,” he said. 

“I’ll still worry, you’re my sweet little boy,” she said. 

Ms. Iero kissed his cheek and unlike most teenage boys who would make a face and pull away, Frank smiled even bigger and gave her a hug. They really do have a close bond, closer than I have ever seen anyone over the age of five have with their parent. 

The oven beeped and Ms. Iero took it from the oven, setting it down onto hot pads on the island. 

“Now decorate!” Frank cheered. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, we don’t have any decorating supplies,” she said. 

“That’s okay,” Frank said, although he sounded a little disappointed. “We’ll just have candles then.”

Ms. Iero looked at him before reaching into a drawer to pull out a little scented house candle. Frank held up his finger but nothing happened. 

“Oh, right, I forgot,” he mumbled. 

“I don’t think we have a lighter, we’ve never actually needed one with you around,” Ms. Iero admitted. “Maybe you can pretend to blow it out.”

I saw a small, sad quiver to Frank’s lip but he brushed it off and blew on the imaginary flame of the snickerdoodle scented candle. 

“Now, let’s see what you boys have made,” she said, cutting us all a slice. 

We took bites at the same time and I immediately coughed at the bitter taste. Frank broke down crying and set his plate down, crumpling to the ground. 

“It’s okay, Baby, we’ll go and buy you a cake, any cake you want from the fanciest bakery we can find,” Ms. Iero said. “And we’ll even get real birthday candles, we can get those colorful ones in the shape of numbers or eighteen different ones, whatever you want.”

“I-I thought everything would be perfect when I lost my curse,” Frankie sobbed. “But it’s not. I’m still sad, why am I sad? I have no reason to be sad. But it’s still there and at least with my curse I would pass out but I’m still sad and scared and I just want it to go away.”


	17. Chapter 16

Frank nervously looked through his closet, digging through the black graphic tees. He wanted to wear something a little bit nicer for our date tonight because he’s never been on a date before. We were going to one of his favorite vegan restaurants and then we’re going to the movies. 

“This is the only nice thing I have that my grandma got me,” Frank said, holding up a pink sweater with a deep blush. 

“Wear it,” I said. “I think you look pretty in pink.”

Frank looked at the sweater nervously before putting it on and I smiled. 

“You look so cute,” I said. 

Frank gave me a kiss, tugging at the sleeves that went over his hands. It was a little big on him but made him look so soft and sweet. 

“Are you sure I should wear this?” He asked nervously. 

“Yes, you look so cute,” I said. 

Frank put on his black converse and reached for his gloves out of instinct before shaking his head with a smile. He looked adorable in the pastel sweater, colliding in the most perfect way with his black eyeliner, piercings and chipped black nail polish. 

“Alright, let’s go,” I said. 

I took his hand and we got into the car. Frank fidgeted with the radio before settling on a station but his fingers were still fidgeting nervously. I reached over, holding his hand. We pulled up to the restaurant and were sat at a table. 

“C-can you order for me?” Frank asked nervously and I nodded. 

“What do you want, Baby?” I asked. 

The waitress came and gave us water before leaving to give us more time. 

“The spinach and mushroom lasagna looks good,” he said. 

I nodded. “I think I’m gonna get Alfredo sauce pasta. All the pastas tonight, I guess.”

Frank giggled and I ordered the food for us. I held his hand across the table, smiling happily. 

“I love you,” I said. 

Frank’s face turned red, letting out nervous whimpers as he looked around. 

“So, any movies that you wanna see?” I asked. 

“A comedy,” Frank said with a small shrug. “I don’t really know what’s out right now but you know I don’t do well with horror movies or sad movies.”

“Alright, I’ll find us the funniest movie playing,” I said and he grinned. 

They gave us our food and Frank ate happily. I spun some noodles around my fork and held it out to him. Frank blushed and ate it. 

“It’s good,” he mumbled. 

I smiled at the way his eyelashes contrasted with his pale cheeks when he looked down. He was gorgeous, his skin smooth and soft and pale. He looked so innocent and sweet. 

“Can you tell me more about your past?” I asked. 

Frank knew everything about me but my knowledge on him was still limited. 

“I-I can’t really do that,” he mumbled. 

“But I know you,” I said. “What else is there?”

“I really don’t w-wanna talk about it,” he whimpered. 

Frank’s hands began to shake, his eyes watering as he looked anywhere but at me.

“Hey, Hey,” I said softly, reaching across the table to hold his hand. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything, okay?”

Frank sniffled and nodded. 

“I’m sorry I cry a lot,” he mumbled, wiping his eyes. “I hate it, I’m like a kid but I just cry a lot.”

“It’s okay, Baby,” I whispered. “Cry all you want, it only makes me love you more.”

Frank blushed and finished eating. The waitress came over with a bright smile as she took our empty plates. 

“Will you boys be getting dessert tonight?” She asked. 

“Not today,” I said. 

She dropped off the check before leaving. I pulled out my wallet, setting down the money including the tip before holding his hand, bringing him out of the restaurant. We drove to the theaters and sat in the theater of a comedy movie after buying tickets and a small bucket of popcorn. 

“How was dinner?” I asked while the trailers played on the screen. 

“It was really good, and not just because of the food,” he said. “It was good because it was my first ever date with a boy.”

I smiled, holding his hand. Frank was looking around curiously and it almost seemed like he was trying to absorb this place into his memory.

“You can come back, you know,” I said. 

Frank blinked a couple times before looking up at me. 

“Oh, yeah,” he mumbled. “I’m not used to being able to go out and stuff. I feel like this is a one time thing before I have to become a shut in again.”

I gave him a soft smile and a kiss on the forehead. He curled up to my side, continuously eating the popcorn. 

“Wh-why am I eating so much now?” He asked. “I should save it for the movies, not the trailers.”

“Welcome to the theaters,” I said with a chuckle. “You’ll eat most of it during the trailers and almost none of it during the actual movie.”

“Why?” Frank asked. 

“Because there’s nothing to focus on during the trailers so you just start to sort of boredom eat and then during the movie you’re so focused you kind of forget you have food,” I said. 

Frank looked at me, curiosity on every inch of his face. He seemed so intrigued by everything in the world in the cutest little innocent way possible. 

“You’re the sweetest,” I mumbled, my hand caressing his cheek, my thumb lightly brushing over his lips. “Your mom’s going to your grandma’s tonight, right?”

Frank nodded, looking at me with his big green eyes and I smirked. 

“Good,” I mumbled, pressing my lips against his. 

He let out a whimper and leaned forward when I pulled away. Frank blushed, fidgeting with his fingers. The lights darkened and he gasped as he looked around. He stared at the screen with his big doe eyes, fascinated by the movie playing. 

I held him close, running my fingers through his hair as we watched the movie. He was so focused the entire time, his lips parted slightly in awe. I watched his fascination the whole time, it was far more interesting than the movie. 

“How was it?” I asked when the ending screen played the credits. 

“Really good,” he said. 

I smiled and took his hand, bringing him out to the car with me. Frank was fidgeting a bit nervously and everytime I caught him staring at me he’d turn away with a blush. We got home and I smiled, holding his hand as I lead him upstairs. If he still had his powers I would definitely be getting some shocks right now.

I kissed him roughly when the bedroom door shut behind us. My hands tangled into his hair before pulling back, panting softly.

“W-we’re gonna have to take it slow,” I breathed out. “This isn’t the same without your powers, it has to be slower.”

Frank nodded and pushed me back towards the bed. He pulled my shirt off, tossing it aside. I crawled back onto the bed, pulling him with me. He was moving quickly, I could feel his desperate hands undoing my belt. I held his wrists gently, pulling them away. I flipped us over and straddled his hips. I kissed his neck, pushing his shirt up to kiss along his chest. Frank’s chest rose and fell and I pulled his shirt off.

I rocked my hips down slowly, the pleasure coursing through my skin as I felt the bulge in his jeans press against me. He moaned, his hands going back to my belt again. I pulled my pants off, tossing them aside before straddling his hips again.

“You don’t happen to have lube, do you?” I asked.

“Um...no, I-I don’t,” he denied.

“That’s fine,” I said.

I held his wrist and picked his hand, sucking on his fingers. Frank’s jaw went slack as he looked up at me. I coated his fingers in spit before moving them behind me. He slowly pushed in a finger and I whimpered, pushing down against him. He rocked them slowly before adding a second. 

“Fuck,” I whimpered. 

I rocked my hips against his hand, moaning quietly.

“Oh shit,” he mumbled.

Frank moved his hand faster and brushed against my prostate, making me cry out in pleasure. I closed my eyes, hands digging into chest.

“Oh, f-fuck,” he mumbled. “It hurts but...not bad. Good hurt.”

Frank pulled his hand away when my hands pulled at his belt, undoing it and tossing it aside. I pulled off his jeans and boxers before climbing back up. I spit in my hand before wrapping it around his erection to slick him up. Frank held my hips as I slowly sank down onto him. There was some stinging pain and I took a few deep breaths.

“F-fuck, please,” he muttered.

“Wait, g-gotta go slow,” I said.

I slowly sank down, my jaw dropping. When the pain washed away I slowly began to grind my hips, letting out quiet whimpers. I turned us over and he gasped before pulling out.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” I asked. “D-do you wanna stop?”

“No,” he mumbled, fidgeting with with his fingers nervously. “C-can you...can you turn o-over?”

“Fuck yeah,” I muttered.

I turned over onto my knees and elbows and he held my hips before pushing back in. I moaned, rocking back against him. The bed creaked, moans filling the air along with the sound of skin slapping against skin with every thrust of his hips. My hands clutched the blanket, moaning loudly as he hit my prostate over and over again.

“O-oh fuck, I’m gonna come,” he whimpered.

“Wait, wait,” I breathed. 

Frank slowed his hips, trying to take a few deep breaths. He starting rocking his hips again and I cried out when his hand wrapped around my erection. He pushed me closer to the edge and the burning knot of pleasure was building up inside the pit of my stomach, my heart nearly bursting out of my chest.

“Please,” I whimpered. “Oh, oh fuck, I’m close.”

Frank snapped his hips harder as his thrusts became more erratic and uneven. I could tell he was trying to hold off, his grip on my hip even tighter. I rocked my hips back, adrenaline rushing through my veins. My jaw dropped, hips stuttering when the tight coil unfolded and I was pushed over the edge, coming into his hand. It ran over me like waves, traveling down my spine and making me shutter.

“Fuck,” he whimpered.

Frank came inside me and gasped before he pulled out. I smiled as I laid down, looking up at him. He whimpered quietly, curling up close to me.

“I love you,” I whispered.

Frank gave me a kiss and held me close, running his fingers through my hair as I fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 17

I yawned as I woke up, curling up with the blanket. I looked over and saw Frank Sleeping peacefully beside me. I smiled, running my fingers over his pale cheek. He didn’t wake so I decided to leave him and got up, going to use the toilet and brush my teeth. 

I sighed, looking at my phone as I laid back down on the bed waiting for him to wake up. There was a text from my mom, asking me to come back home. I looked at Frank, biting my lip before I grabbed the notepad off his desk. 

_I had to leave but I didn’t want to wake you, I’ll text you later x_

I set the note down on his phone on his nightstand, kissing his forehead before I went back to my house. My mom was drinking coffee while she made some breakfast.

“Why did I need to come home?” I asked.

“You’ve just been there a lot, you needed to come home,” she said. 

“But, mom, Frank is going through a lot right now and I want to be there for him,” I said.

“What’s he going through?” She asked.

He used to have magic powers but lost them two days ago after drinking cyanide.

“I-it’s hard to explain,” I said.

My mom waited for me to continue but realized that I wasn’t saying more. 

“Jamia came by yesterday,” she said. “I haven’t seen her around here much lately, don’t forget about Jamia just because you’ve gotten a boyfriend.”

“I know, I’m not,” I denied. “I’m gonna go to her place after lunch.”

She nodded and I ate before going up to shower. I sat on my bed doing homework while eating before going over to Jamia’s. She was in bed reading a book but it didn’t seem like she was really paying attention.

“Hey, lady, it’s been too long,” I said.

Jamia set the book down, giving me a soft smile. There was a sadness to it, I noticed it immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said.

“What?” I repeated, holding her hand.

“I don’t know, just been feeling down,” she said. “Maybe I just missed you, maybe a little jealous of you and your perfect relationship with Frank.”

“You don’t have to be jealous,” I denied. “You’re gonna find a girl that makes you feel like that too.”

“How does Frank make you feel?” She asked.

“Like...I’m on a cloud,” I mumbled. “It’s like I’m on a cloud and um there’s that one...that one Snow Patrol song playing. The really soft one that used to play all the time. Chasing Cars, that’s the one. It’s like I’m laying on a cloud and that song is playing and Frank is laying there with me and it’s just us two laying together and the whole world is gone and everything is perfect.”

“Love is like Snow Patrol?” Jamia asked.

“Love is exactly like Snow Patrol,” I said. “Love feels like what a Snow Patrol song makes you feel.”

She smiled softly, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I want that,” she mumbled. “I wanna be on a cloud with Snow Patrol playing.”

I looked at her, biting my lip.

“Let’s go to the mall,” I said. “We’ll go shopping for a bit.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” she agreed.

We went out to the car and I drove us over to the mall. We went into one of her favorite stores and she smiled, holding my hand as we walked around. 

“What do you think of this dress?” She asked, pulling out a little baby blue sundress.

“I think it would look so gorgeous on you,” I said. “Seriously, you will look so beautiful.”

“It’s not the season though, I think I should maybe get something warmer,” she said. 

“Maybe a cute little sweater,” I said.

“I wanna wear some cute little autumn colored sweaters,” she said.

I looked up and smiled when I saw someone else across the store.

“Oh my god, it’s Lindsey,” I said. “Go hit on her.”

“N-no, I can’t do that,” she denied.

“You can,” I said. “It’s gonna be okay, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“I’ll be humiliated and then I’ll still have to see her at school and be humiliated again,” she said. 

“Mia—“

“Please, Gerard,” Jamia interrupted in a soft voice. “Please just…just drop it, okay?”

I looked at her with a small frown but didn’t say anything as I nodded. 

“How about this?” I asked, pulling out a maroon sweater. 

It was one of those sweaters with the triangle cut out on the chest, leaving the collar of the shirt intact. 

“Oh, I-I don’t know if I could pull that off,” she said. 

“You totally could,” I said. “And you would look amazing in it.”

“Alright, I’ll get it then,” she said. 

She took the sweater from me and I couldn’t help but notice the way she glanced at Lindsey on the other side of the store. She seemed upset but I decided not to push anything. We used to be here for each other for everything but I’ve been ditching her for Frank and now she’s going through something and she won’t even talk to me about it.

“How about we go down to the food court,” I suggested. 

“Let’s get soft pretzels, those are the best,” she said. 

I nodded and we went down to the cafeteria with her. We got two soft pretzels before sitting at a table in the corner. 

“So, have you told Frank that you love him?” She asked. 

“I have,” I said. “And I love saying it.”

“And he’s said it back?” She asked. 

“Well, I mean, I know he feels the same,” I said. “It’s just that he’s really shy and has a hard time saying things like this sometimes. He’s tried to but he just gets really flustered when trying to get the words out but he tries to say it and I know that he means it.”

“How do you know?” She asked. 

His eyes used to tell me. 

“Well, it’s just the way he holds my hand and the way he looks at me and the way he pulls me closer at night when we’re sleeping even though there isn’t even an inch of space between us,” I said. 

“I can’t wait until I can get that,” she mumbled. “Maybe college. I’m hoping to find some cute girl at art school. And I wanna fall in love and do the cute little pulling closer thing in bed.”

I smiled and nodded, dipping the warm soft pretzel into the gooey yellow cheese. 

“I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of slacking as a best friend,” I said. “I suck, I should’ve been here for you more. I promise I’m not ditching you for Frank or anything, I’ve just been kind of distracted is all. And I’m sorry for just spending a lot of time with Frank, he’s going through a lot right now and I just wanna be there for him. But I know you’re probably going through a lot too and I need to be there for you too.”

“It’s okay, you have a boyfriend now and I’m happy for you,” she said. 

“You don’t have to be happy all the time,” I said. “I know it does suck and I miss hanging out with you all the time, you really are my best friend in the whole world.”

“Maybe this is good,” she said. “We’re going to different colleges, I think that we have to get used to not seeing each other all the time. We used to be connected at the hip, it’s good for us to get some time apart.”

“But no matter what you’re still gonna be my best friend,” i said. “And if you ever need me then just come to me, okay? You might not be up to talking about it but I can tell you’re going through something and you don’t have to go through it alone.”

“I think I maybe have been a bit lonely,” she said. “Didn’t want to call you, though. I didn’t want to ruin your time with Frank. I know you’ve been at his house a lot, I see you out my window walking over there pretty much everyday, if you don’t stay the night and are already there in the first place.”

I reached over and held onto her hand. 

“Mia, tell me if you’re feeling lonely and I will drop everything and be with you,” I said. “And Frank was going through a lot but he seems to be getting through it now and it’s over so I’ll be able to spend more time with you without feeling so guilty about leaving Frank alone to go through his shit alone because it was some pretty heavy shit that’s just…it’s hard to understand and I can’t really tell you because it’s really not my place.”

“It’s okay, Gerard,” she said. “I get it. Frank does seem like he’s going through a lot. He seems…depressed and I want to make sure that he’s okay and going through everything okay.”

“Yeah, he’s struggling a bit but getting a little better,” I said. “Again, I really just can’t talk to you about it.”

“Tell him that I send my best of wishes,” she said. 

“I will,” I said. “And he will probably be more willing to hang out with us as a group now that he’s gotten through his stuff.”

She smiled and nodded, wiping her hands on a napkin when she finished eating her pretzel. 

“Thank you, this is good,” she said. “I think that this is exactly what I have been needing. I have been needing a nice day out with my best friend.”

“Maybe we can go back to your house and continue this special outing with a special little spa, I know you’ve always loved that when we were younger,” I said. “We can do face masks and i'll paint your nails.”

“This day just keeps getting better and better,” she said. “That sounds amazing.”

I smiled and kissed her cheek before we left to spend the rest of the day together in her bedroom.


	19. Chapter 18

Frank seemed to be doing better at school now ever since he lost his powers. He’s seemed more open and talkative, less scared when anyone just looks at him. He’s seemed a lot happier now, almost actually genuinely happy. I really liked seeing him happy but a part of me wished he didn’t take away his powers just to feel this way.

Frank was asleep beside me when I woke up that Saturday morning. It’s been three weeks since Frank lost his powers. It felt like time was going by so fast, it was already less than two weeks until Christmas. Frank was adjusting but some things were still hard for him. The pain was hard, the cold was surprising.

I stood up and yawned, going to the bathroom before heading downstairs. His mom was in the back working, I could already tell from the way the office door was shut in the back. I was looking around the cabinets, trying to find something to make breakfast with but there was nothing. There was still hardly any groceries, they still weren’t used to a sedentary lifestyle, apparently.

I sighed, going to the back closet where I knew they had some boxes. I found some flour in one box but as I was reaching for it I knocked over another. I looked at the pile of newspapers, looking over them curiously. Most headlines were morbid, things about kids being electrocuted in a kiddy pool, a miraculous car accident that resulted in the death of two teenagers, a middle school boy who randomly caught fire in the hallway and suffered third degree burns.

I hard a quiet sniffle and turned to see Frank standing in the doorway as he cried. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked. 

“I-I didn’t mean to,” Frank whimpered. “I-it was an accident.”

“What was?” I asked. 

Frank sniffled and sat down in my lap on the floor. 

“I-I didn’t mean to hurt them,” he whispered. 

My eyes glanced down at the assortment of newspapers. 

“These were you?” I asked. 

“It’s why we always have to move,” he cried. “I don’t mean to, my powers just control themselves sometimes. I didn’t want to hurt them, I really didn’t.”

I picked up the first article about the kids. 

_In Oregon the small town received quite a shock, literally. Enjoying the summer heat, neighborhood kids sat in the kiddie pool together. Unfortunately, a sudden bolt of electricity turned the summer to horrors. It was assumed that a loose wire touched the water and electrified it, causing the deaths of Cassie Davis, 4, Harriet Goldman, 2, Jordan Hurley, 4, and Kate Smith, 3. Due to some miracle, Anthony Messina, 3, managed to survive without a single injury. Investigators are still trying to find the source of this tragedy._

I looked at Frank as he cried. He was Anthony Messina. 

“My parents didn’t think twice,” he mumbled. “They just…they put me in the little pool with all the other kids just like all the other parents in the neighborhood. And it was good, we spent hours playing in that little pool but then…a dog barked and it scared me and I-I hurt them. I killed them.”

“Frankie, it’s not your fault,” I stated. 

“It is,” he sobbed. “I killed them. I-i killed all of them. I’m a murderer. I-I murdered all 27 of them.”

27? Holy shit…

“It wasn’t your fault, you didn’t mean to,” I said. 

“It doesn’t matter if I didn’t mean to, I still did it,” he mumbled. “I killed them. I-I didn’t mean to kill them. And I hurt so many more. I hurt everyone.”

“This is why you’re always fleeing and changing your name,” I realized. 

“They’re gonna hurt me if they find me,” he whimpered. “I couldn’t feel pain but now I can, that makes it even scarier.”

“D-do you hate me now?” He whimpered. 

“No, of course not,” I denied. “Why would I ever hate you?”

“Because I’m not a good person,” he said. “I’m a monster.”

“You aren’t,” I stated. “You are absolutely perfect, okay? With or without powers you’re perfect.”

Frank shook his head and I pulled him closer, letting him rest his head against my shoulder as I kissed the top of his head. 

“I love you,” I whispered. 

Frank let out a sad whimper, burying his face into my shoulder. 

“It’s upsetting what happened to these people but you can’t go back so you have to try and get past it,” I said. “I know that it’s hard but it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t want to hurt them, that’s what makes you a good person.”

Frank sniffled, wiping his eyes. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” I said. 

“No, it’s not,” he denied. “I’m a monster. A murderer. Th-that’s—that’s on serial killer level, 27.”

“If was an accident—“

“That doesn’t matter,” he interrupted. “It was still my fault. I still killed them.”

I looked at the other article about the car accident. 

_A town is left baffled after the death of two teenage girls. Witnesses reported that they had run a red light while driver, Marie Alden, 17, texted on her phone. Teenager Trevor Bennett, 14, had been on the crosswalk in front of the car. Bystanders report the car crashed into an invisible wall in front of Bennett, miraculously saving his life. People believe Bennett had an angel on his shoulder that day. Unfortunately, Alden died on impact and Hilary Sutton, 16, passed away on the way to the hospital._

“Were you Trevor?” I asked and Frank nodded. “They would’ve run you over, right? They would’ve killed you, you were protecting yourself by stopping them with telekinesis.”

“But I wouldn’t have been hurt,” he said. “I should’ve let them hit me and say that it was a miracle I wasn’t killed or hurt, then they wouldn’t have been hurt. I just saw the car coming and I got scared and I panicked and made them stop and it killed them. I-I was just scared.”

I frowned and picked up another paper.

_Sudden, unknown house fire causes the death of Angela Summers, 34, and her daughter Chrystal Summers, 2. George Kerry, 5, was being babysat by Summers at the time and managed to get out and to a neighbor’s house to call the police. Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire but it currently remains unknown._

“You’re George,” I stated.

“I-I was put in time out and just got a little angry,” he said. “I didn’t mean for the fire to start but I just couldn’t control the fact that I was angry.”

_Two boys passed away this week after school. Bystanders reported witnessing Charlie Jennings, 13, and Derek Hutson, 13, following Elliot Foster, 12, into an alleyway. A few minutes later they heard screaming and when help rushed they found Jennings and Hutson on the ground with severe electrical burns. Hutson passed away on the scene from electrocution. Jennings received head trauma when he fell and was in a coma after brain surgery but he has yet to wake up. Police are investigating but since the incident Foster has yet to be found._

“What happened?” I asked.

“They used to bully me,” he whimpered. “They’d always try to hurt me and I would just pretend that it actually hurt. And then that day they followed me into the alley and, you know, they were intimidating me and trying to scare me and I was obviously really scared. And then Derek picked up a metal pipe that was in the alley and he was just swinging it around to scare me but then he actually swung it at my stomach. I grabbed it and was so scared the bolts were powerful enough to go through my gloves and course through the pipe. Derek died almost immediately and Charlie had been touching Derek. He fell and hit his head and my mom tried hiding it from me after we left but I found an online article about how he ended up dying after he was taken off life support.”

“They were the ones who were harassing you, it isn’t your fault that you were just trying to protect yourself,” I said. “They were actually trying to intentionally hurt you.”

“But I can’t be hurt so it wasn’t in self defense if I can’t even be hurt,” he said. 

Frank’s crying grew heavier and I held him tighter.

“There’s so many that I hurt,” he sobbed. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to be born a monster.”

“Baby, come on, let’s go back upstairs,” I said. “We can cuddle in bed instead of sitting here on the cold floor.”

Frank sniffled and nodded but didn’t really move. I got up, holding his hand. I dragged him upstairs to the bedroom, laying down on the soft mattress with him.

“Wh-where’s my mama?” Frank asked.

“She’s working,” I said. “Do you want her?”

Frank shrugged. “I-I like cuddling with my mama.”

“That’s okay, Frankie,” I said. “I can get her if you want.”

He shook his head. “No, that’s okay, she’s working. And I like your cuddles anyways. I just get really upset when I start thinking about all the people that I hurt.”

I held his hand, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb gently.

“I’ve felt different ever since I met you,” I said. “I maybe wasn’t in the best place last year, I was in therapy and stuff. But then I met you and I feel better now, I’m happier because you make me happy from how much I love you.”

“No, it’s just because I used the blue flames on you,” he said. “It’s not like I’m some actually good person who helps people with their words or something like that.”

“Y-you used blue flames on me?” I asked.

“I-it was a little after we started dating and you were asleep,” he said. “I-I wanted to help you, I cured you of any physical or mental illnesses you had. Sh-should I not have done that? Are you upset with me?”

“No, of course not,” I denied. “Thank you, Frankie.”

He nodded, holding my hand.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “Look, you’re not a monster. You helped me. You help your mom.”

“Helping two people doesn’t make up for all the others that I hurt,” he stated.

“They weren’t--”

“Don’t say it wasn’t my fault because it was,” he interrupted. “I really don’t want to take about this anymore. Please?”

I nodded, staying quiet as I held him tighter.


	20. Chapter 19

I was curled up in Frank’s bed, Christmas break already in full swing as we spent all our time together. It was late and I yawned, looking up to see Frank sitting on the edge of the bed. Darkness surrounded us as I sat up, realizing that he was crying 

“Frankie? What’s wrong?” I asked. 

“I-I don’t know,” he whimpered. “I’ve never felt this before.”

“Felt what?” I asked. 

“I’m tired but I’m not sleeping,” he said. 

“Oh, you’re having some trouble falling asleep?” I asked. 

“This has never happened,” he said. “With my powers I could sleep whenever I wanted. I never had trouble falling asleep.”

Powers. Did he actually just call them powers instead of a curse?

“It’s okay, just lay down with me,” I said. 

“N-no, I can’t,” Frank whimpered. “There’s nothing for me to do, there’s just so many bad thoughts. All I can do is think.”

“Let’s put on a movie, maybe that’ll help you fall asleep,” I said. 

Frank sniffled and nodded, moving back up onto the bed with me under the blanket. I put a movie onto the tv, running my fingers through Frank’s hair. He was still crying quietly and I sat here wondering what thoughts were running through his head. 

I didn’t want to ask him about it at all, I didn’t want to upset him more. He was probably thinking about the people from the newspaper articles. He shouldn’t have to be haunted by all this from the past, he didn’t mean to hurt them, Frank is terrified of hurting people. 

“Gerard, do you still love me even though you know about what I did?” He asked. 

“Of course,” I said. “I will never stop loving you, Baby.”

Frank nodded, snuggling close to me. 

“I love you,” I said. 

Frank smiled, his hand reaching over to hold mine. I began to doze off and fell asleep, noticing that he was still awake. 

In the morning the bed was empty and I frowned in confusion. Frank was never awake before me, he is always sleeping. I stood up and got dressed, going downstairs but frank wasn’t there. I bit my lip before going and knocking on the office door, walking in when she said I could. 

“Hi, sorry, I was just wondering where Frank was,” I said. 

“Oh, he’s asleep in my bed,” she said. “He came in my room to cuddle with me last night.”

“Oh, okay,” I said. 

She smiled, reaching into her purse before she handed me twenty dollars. 

“Why don’t you get Frank up and go out for breakfast,” she said. “Frank was pretty upset last night, I think he would like going out.”

“Okay, thank you,” I said. 

I went up to her bedroom and saw Frank curled up on the bed hugging a pillow while he slept. 

“Hey, Baby,” I said, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

Frank whimpered, yawning and stretching. 

“Come on, you wanna go out for breakfast?” I asked. 

Frank shook his head, burying his face into the pillow. 

“Why not?” I asked.

Frank just let out a cry, shaking his head.

“What is this?” He cried.

Frank held his head and I looked at him in confusion.

“It’s like...it’s pounding,” he said.

“You must’ve gotten a headache from crying too much,” I said. “I’ll get you some medicine.”

“It doesn’t work,” he cried.

“It should now,” I said.

I got him some medicine and a glass of water. Frank took it before laying back down on his mom’s bed.

“You don’t want to go out?” I asked.

“No,” he mumbled. “Too sad.”

“It’s okay, baby,” I said. “Let’s just go downstairs and get some cereal or something.”

Frank nodded and went downstairs with me. I left the money on the counter and got two bowls, pouring us both cereal. Frank mostly just swirled his cereal around the bowl, only occasionally taking bites.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Frank shrugged.

“Is the medicine starting to kick in?” I asked.

“I guess,” he mumbled.

He didn’t want to eat and just dumped his cereal out. I frowned, watching him go to lay on the couch under a blanket. I sat with him when I finished my breakfast and turned on the tv, letting him lay his head on my lap. Frank was looking at the screen but his eyes were empty and absent.

“Maybe we can go on a walk,” I suggested.

“No, it’s cold,” he mumbled. “I felt the cold for the first time and I don’t like it.”

I smiled softly, running my fingers through his hair.

“You excited for Christmas?” I asked.

Frank shrugged. “We don’t really do much.”

“No?” I asked.

“No tree or decorations, my mom sometimes gets me a book or something,” he said.

“Well, maybe it’ll be a little different this year now that you don’t have to worry about moving,” I said. “You don’t have to move again.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he mumbled.

“It’s gonna be okay, Baby, do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

“No,” he whispered.

Frank sniffled and I leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“I love you,” I said. “And I’m gonna be here with you no matter what, okay? Everything is gonna be fine.”

Frank nodded but didn’t say anything. We stayed like that for a little while before Ms. Iero came out.

“I thought you boys were going out for some breakfast,” she said.

“Didn’t feel like it,” Frank mumbled.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe today we could go out and get a christmas tree,” she said.

“A real tree?” Frank asked hopefully.

She nodded and Frank sat up, a small smile on his face.

“When are we going?” He asked.

“I’m gonna go take a shower and then we’ll go,” she said.

Frank nodded and she left. He had a small, excited smile on his face. He looked pretty happy, actually. I gave him a soft kiss and we went upstairs. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater.

“I hate having to wear winter jackets,” he said. “They’re so annoying.”

I smiled and he held my hand. 

“And how is it that snow, like, hurts?” Frank asked. “It’s like it stings.”

“Cold has a bite to it,” I said. “That’s why snow stings.”

Frank nodded, looking around a little nervously.

“Do I have to chop down a tree?” He asked.

“No, people do that for you,” I said with a small chuckle.

Frank nodded but still seemed nervous as he fidgeted with his fingers.

“Well, will you be there and help me?” He asked.

“I’m sorry, I can’t go,” I said. “My mom wants me to help put up some decorations.”

“Oh,” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay with just you and your mom,” I said.

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I’m just gonna miss you.”

I smiled and gave him a kiss.

“Alright, I’m gonna go now,” I said. “I’ll see you later, okay? Send me a picture of the tree once it’s all nice and decorated.”

Frank nodded and I gave him another kiss before I left. I went home and saw some boxes waiting to be unpacked but I went upstairs to my computer. I went back to the same thing I’ve been doing for months. Trying to find other people with powers.

It was difficult and I mostly just got a bunch of people who claim to have powers even though it’s obvious they don’t. Also videos of people with powers, but I was skeptical of most of them. Who knows what’s real and what’s edited. Movie magic is crazy these days.

I searched through the deepest parts of the internet before finding an odd website. It was plain without any pictures. There was just a small paragraph of text with an email.

_To all those who are different. To all those who can do different things. Magical things. To those with powers they can’t quite explain. To those who were born different. To those who can do things that aren’t normal. To those who can do things heros can do in comics. To those who need help. We are here for you. We can help you, we can keep you safe._

I frowned, looking at the mostly empty page. It wasn’t like the other websites with flamboyant pictures of ‘real’ magic and videos and showing powers everywhere. This was more secretive and private. It wasn’t flamboyant or flashy, this was just simple and vague and seemed the most real over all of it.

I went onto my email and started a draft, putting the email from the website into the top bar of who I wanted to send it to. I bit my lip, staring at the blinking cursor.

_I don’t know how to start this. I don’t know how professional to be. I’m not sure if this is legit or if this is even meaning what I think it’s supposed to be, your website is really vague and almost in code. But I guess that would make sense, you don’t want everyone finding out about you. I don’t know what this is or how many people there are. But I think I know what you do and I think my boyfriend needs help. I don’t want to say too much over an email, I know it isn’t exactly my place to be saying anything. And I don’t want to say anything that would actually get him into trouble at all but the way the website is it seems secret. Like a secret club, like the illuminati except more secretive._

I frowned, deleting the last sentence after a second thought.

_My boyfriend can do the magical things. He thinks he’s alone in the world and he needs help, even though he doesn’t want to admit it and also doesn’t really want to even try and find help. I don’t know what I’m doing but I thought that if I could find someone else with powers then that could help him. He’s lonely and scared. Can you help him?_

I read it over ten times before taking a deep breath and sending the email. I waited for an email but didn’t get anything. I sighed and went downstairs, beginning to unpack the decorations and set them up when my phone buzzed with an email.

_We can help but we need proof._


	21. Chapter 20

How the fuck was I supposed to get proof of Frank’s powers? He didn’t have them anymore so I can’t get a video of it. I gasped when I realized there were videos of his powers, Frank had plenty of them on his laptop.

And I felt so dirty after I stole the videos and sent them to the email, which didn’t even have a name attached to it. I haven’t been spending much time with Frank, I felt sick just looking at him. I felt like I had somehow betrayed him. I probably did, maybe they’re secretly the police. I still haven’t heard back from them after I sent the videos and that was worrying me, it’s been almost an entire week now.

Everyday that passed I felt sicker and sicker. It’s been easy to avoid Frank because we’re still on break and I had family events to use as an excuse because of the holidays. I always felt really bad telling him I couldn’t hang out, I would love to be able to go and just kiss him and hold him tight but I felt sick just looking at him. So instead, I shut myself off in my room, even away from Jamia. 

My phone finally buzzed and I gasped when I saw it was an email from the person. They were asking for a Skype request and I quickly added them before logging into my computer when they called me. 

I saw a man with black hair and I bit my lip a little nervously, the screen fuzzy and lagging a bit. 

“We have poor connection here,” he said. 

“Wh-who are you?” I asked. 

“We can’t tell you that now,” he stated. “You’re Gerard?”

“Y-yes,” I said a little nervously, looking around my dark bedroom. 

“Where is your boyfriend?” He asked. 

“I-I want to know if you’re real first,” I said. “I showed you.”

The man glitched again for a moment before nodding. He held up his hand and a ball of flame appeared in his hand. 

“Wow,” I muttered. “Okay, how do you help people?”

“We have a remote location, people find salvation and protection here,” he said. “Your boyfriend?”

“He isn’t here,” I said. “He thinks he’s the only person with powers in the world and just gets upset when I bring up finding some other people like him.”

“Are you able to call him over?” He asked. 

“Well, I mean, the thing is just that he recently lost his powers,” I said. 

“That’s not possible,” he denied. 

“It is, he did,” I said. “He ingested cyanide and almost died but he woke back up and he didn’t have powers anymore.”

“How did he manage to survive cyanide?” The man asked. 

“Because he has the blue flame powers that heals and it healed him as he ingested it,” I explained. “It’s hard to understand, I don’t really understand completely.”

“So he has the healing powers,” he said. 

“Well, yes, he also has flames like you and he can fly and shoot lightning from his fingers and his eyes glow sometimes and he has telekenisis,” I said. 

“He has more than one power?” The man asked and I nodded. “There aren’t many people with more than one.”

“He’s special?” I asked. 

“He’s very, I’ve never met anyone with more than two,” he said. “But You have to listen to me, I don’t think he’s safe.”

“Wh-why not?” I asked, panic setting in as my heart raced. 

“Because you can’t get rid of powers,” he said. “They May be gone now but it’s only temporary. He can control the powers, right?”

“No, not at all,” I denied. 

“That makes it even worse,” he said. “The powers will come back and if he can’t control them then he is going to hurt someone.”

Frankie can’t do that again, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Gerard, we can take him in, we can help teach him how to control his powers and we can keep him safe,” he said. “Has he fled from place to place? Avoided being noticed?”

“Yes, he has, he’s moved a lot and changed his name,” I said.

“I will send you the location of where we are, get him here as soon as possible,” he said.

“You’ll help him?” I asked.

“We will,” he stated. “We want to help protect people with powers because they have no one else to go to. How old is your boyfriend?”

“He’s eighteen,” I said.

“Okay, you should get him here as soon as you possibly can,” he said.

“I-I have to talk to him,” I said.

The man started glitching more before we suddenly lost connection. I got up, running down the street to Frank’s house. I knocked on the door and he looked at me sleepily as he yawned.

“Gerard? It’s the middle of the night,” he mumbled. “I-I was cuddling with my mama.”

“We need to go now,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” He asked. “I was just cuddling.”

“Frank, I know people that can help you, they can take you in and keep you safe and show you how to control your powers,” I said.

“You had a weird dream,” he mumbled as I stepped in and shut the door behind me.

“It isn’t, there’s a group of people who live apart from society or something, they can help you take control of your powers,” I said.

“I don’t have my powers anymore,” he stated.

“He told me that they will come back,” I said. “You can’t just get rid of them.”

“Who’s he?” Frank asked.

“The man from the place,” I said. “They can help you.”

“You told people about me?” He asked.

“I-I had to, they wouldn’t talk to me without proof,” I said.

“What proof?” Frank asked and I bit my lip. “No, you didn’t Please tell me you did not give them my trial videos.”

“I had to for proof,” I said. “But then he showed me his powers too, he has fire powers just like you.”

“It’s fake,” he said. “It’s all fucking fake and now everything’s ruined again.”

Frank went upstairs and I followed as he woke up his mom.

“Mama, we need to leave,” he said.

“Wh-what’s going on?” She asked sleepily.

“Mama, they’re gonna come for us,” Frank whimpered, his eyes watering. “They’re gonna take me away.”

“What happened?” She asked.

Frank looked at me, wiping his eyes.

“I found people who can help Frank, they have powers too,” I said. “He showed them to me, he has the flames on his hand.”

“Gerard gave them the trial videos,” Frank whispered.

“Are you serious?” Ms. Iero asked.

“They can help,” I said.

“You need to leave,” Ms. Iero stated. “Frank, start packing.”

“No, please, just trust me, trust them,” I said. “They’re legit, they can help.”

Ms. Iero grabbed my upper arm, pulling me downstairs and outside. It was freezing out, the ground covered in snow. I hadn’t even grabbed my jacket before coming over here.

“Please,” I begged. “Just trust me, he can help Frank because his powers will come back.”

“We trusted you,” she said.

Frank stepped out, looking panicked and scared.

“Frankie, you know I wouldn’t do anything to put you into danger,” I said. “Please just trust me.”

“Th-the government will come,” Frank whimpered. “They’ll hurt me.”

My eyes widened when I saw a small spark on his fingertips.

“Frankie?” I asked.

“Th-they’re gonna hurt me,” Frank cried.

“You need to leave,” Ms. Iero said.

“Please, they can help,” I said.

“Gonna hurt me,” Frank whimpered.

I saw someone across the street open the door, looking out to see what the commotion was.

“Frankie, come on, it’ll be okay,” I said.

I touched his shoulder and he jumped, letting out a small shriek. There was a sudden hot, burning feeling and a vibration through my body. I couldn’t move but next thing I knew I was on the ground. My forearm had the most pain and when I looked down I saw the skin was completely split open, you could see the bone and everything.

I was just about to pass out when Frank used the blue flames and healed me. I took a deep breath, my head clearing up as I gasped.

“The powers are back,” Frank whispered.

I heard a small shriek and saw the lady across the street hurry back into her house.

“They’re back,” Frank sobbed, his head falling down onto my chest.

“Frankie, come on, we need to leave,” Ms. Iero said. “That lady saw you.”

“We’re moving?” Frank asked.

“How does Florida sound?” She asked. “Somewhere nice and warm.”

Frank just kept crying, hugging me tight.

“I don’t want to leave Gerard,” Frank sobbed. “I love him.”

I knew he felt that but hearing the words made my heart soar.

“I’m sorry but we need to leave,” she said.

“I-I don’t want to leave him,” he cried.

Ms. Iero pulled Frank off me, shaking her head.

“We need to leave now,” she said.

They went back inside and I sniffled, wiping my eyes. They just needed to trust me. If they did then we would get help for Frank. I pulled out my phone and checked the location. The man seemed to be off the coast near England. I got up, wiping off my sweatpants. I saw a black van pull up with completely black windows. Some men stepped out, dressed in what looked like government agents. 

“Fuck,” I muttered, running inside.

I ran up to Frank’s bedroom where he was throwing things into bags.

“Frank, there’s people here,” I said. “Government people.”

Frank looked up, his lip quivering as he shook his head. We heard them out in the hallway and saw them grabbing Ms. Iero. Frank gasped, his skin glowing. Flames built up on his hands as some people walked in.

“D-don’t touch her,” Frank whimpered. 

The fire creeped up his arms and soon it was up on his shoulders. It didn’t seem to burn his clothes at all. One of the men doused him in water and the flames went away. I gasped as my socks got wet, sitting up on the bed instead. Someone went to grab me before he froze, his body shaking. Everyone in the room collapsed, bodies smoking. The water on the ground had become electrified by Frank and it didn’t look like any of them were breathing.

Frank reached for me with the blue flame on his hand when we heard more people coming into the house. He pulled me over to the window and opened it. He climbed out, floating in the air, guiding me to follow. I gasped, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I’m still not used to this,” I muttered.

“Frankie!” Ms. Iero shouted and I looked over to where she was being handcuffed and put into the van. “Frankie, go! Run!”

My stomach dropped as Frank few off. He was coursing with electricity but the blue flame pressed to my back protected me. I kept my face buried into my chest and we seemed to move for hours before Frank started to slow down and dip down lower. We ended up falling to the ground and I gasped as I twisted my ankle. Frank just laid there before he suddenly began having a seizure. I tried helping him and put him into the recovery position when he calmed down.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “It’s gonna be okay.”

But as Frank slept and recovered from overusing his powers, I sat here in the dark and the cold in the middle of an unknown forest, unable to even get up and walk on my sprained ankle.


	22. Chapter 21

When Frank woke up I was wet from the snow and shaking from the cold. My teeth chattered and from the camera on my phone I could see my lips were turning blue. He was a little groggy at first before finally sitting up when he saw me. He erupted the blue flame and held my hand. Warmth washed over me and I immediately felt better.

“Wh-where’s my mama?” Frank whimpered.

“Frankie, we need to go,” I said. “We have to get to the people that can help us.”

Frank sniffled and shook his head.

“Frankie, would I ever put you in danger?” I asked and he shook his head. “Then you just have to trust me, okay?”

“You’re sure of this?” Frank asked.

“Absolutely positive,” I stated.

Frank nodded and stood up.

“Wait, I hurt my ankle,” I said.

Frank pressed the blue flame to my ankle before holding my hand with it again. He helped me up and we walked through the woods. Frank was trying to conserve energy so he wasn’t using his powers other than to keep me warm.

“H-how do you know they’re gonna help?” Frank asked, his voice wavering.

“I’ve talked with them, I just know that they are,” I said. “It’s gonna be okay, Baby.”

“I want my mama,” Frank mumbled.

“We’re gonna find her,” I said. “They can help us find her.”

“You don’t even know who they are,” he said. “Oh god, what’s happened? You have to go back to your family.”

“I want to run away with you,” I said. “I want to help you.”

“Y-you can’t do that,” Frank cried. “You can’t, it’ll ruin your life.”

Frank’s hand began to grow cold as he got sadder and sadder and although my hand was cold, the flames kept the rest of my body warm.

“Frankie, come on, you have to cheer up,” I said. “You’re gonna use up too much energy if you don’t.”

Frank sniffled and looked over at me, his eyes glowing again.

“I love you,” I said.

“I-I love you, too,” he whispered.

I smiled and gave him a kiss, feeling him warm up a bit.

“And listen, we’re gonna go and get some help and find your mom and then we’re gonna learn how to control your powers,” I said.

Frank nodded, squeezing my hand tighter.

“I love you,” I said. “Nothing is going to change that.”

Frank sniffled, wiping his eyes. 

“Okay now listen, we’re gonna go and get a plane to England and then you can fly us out to the island or something,” I said. “I don’t think you could make the flight across the Atlantic.”

“I-I have one of my mom’s credit cards, we can use that,” he said.

“The only problem is passports,” I said.

“What are we gonna do?” He asked.

“We’ll get passports, rushed passports can take a couple days,” I said.

“You’re not eighteen,” Frank said.

“I’ll get a fake ID and shit like that so that way I can get one,” I said.

Frank’s lip was quivering but I could tell he was trying his hardest not to cry. 

“Let’s go and just get a motel and we’ll just get some rest, okay?” I asked and he nodded.

Frank picked me up and started flying again. We got to a town and we looked around before finding a motel still renting out rooms. We got one and quickly went into the warm room. Frank sniffled, looking around before he opened the bathroom door. He put his hand on the door jam and took a deep breath before slamming the door shut. I shrieked, running over to him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

He pulled his hand away and smiled.

“I wanted to make sure I couldn’t feel pain anymore,” he said.

“You could've just pulled your hair, you didn’t have to break your hand,” I said.

Frank sniffled, looking down at his cookie monster pajama pants.

“We don’t have any clothes,” he said.

“We’ll get some tomorrow,” I said. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

I pulled out my phone and we laid in bed together after drying off from the snow.

“So apparently this island isn’t even on maps or anything,” I said. “And that means that we could be safe, right? We’re gonna be safe and they’re gonna be able to take care of us.”

“And they’ll help me with my powers?” Frank asked.

“Powers,” I said. “You called them powers, not a curse.”

Frank frowned and looked down but when he looked back up I saw his eyes glowing.

“And we are gonna need to get you some sunglasses,” I said.

“I-I don’t have my gloves, Gerard,” he said. “I-I need my gloves.”

“Don’t stress, baby, it’s gonna be okay,” I said. “Just don’t stress and try to relax and you’ll be fine.”

Frank nodded and bit his lip.

“Can we turn on the tv?” He asked.

I nodded, turning the tv on to a low volume to some cartoons and turning off the light. It was almost two in the morning and the drowsiness was quickly taking over both of us. We fell asleep together, curled up on the cheap motel bed.

The next morning Frank was of course asleep as I took a shower. I took the credit card to get some breakfast from McDonald’s down the street. He was still asleep when I got back and I watched tv quietly. He didn’t wake up until nearly two in the afternoon, which was to be expected because of the amount of energy he used.

“Hey, what’s the farthest you’ve ever flown?” i asked.

Frank yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily, his hair sticking up.

“Um, I-I don’t know,” he mumbled. 

“The island is thirty miles from shore, do you think you’ll be able to fly that far?” I asked.

“Don’t they have boats or something?” he asked. “But yeah, I think I’ll be able to make it as long as I conserve energy.”

“Good,” I said.

“You got food?” Frank asked, eyeing the food on the table.

“Yeah, it’s kinda cold now,” I said.

My phone buzzed with a new email from the man on the island.

_Do you have any idea when you and your boyfriend will be arriving here?_

I sighed and began typing up my reply.

_There were some complications but we’ll try to get there as soon as possible. We’re pressed on time and are trying to get passports to get on a plane to head off to England and then to the island._

I set my phone down as Frank began eating his cold hotcakes and hash browns. 

“How long did I sleep?” Frank asked. 

“About twelve hours,” I said. “And no more powers, you have to conserve energy.”

Frank nodded and sat down in my lap. 

“I’m sorry,” Frank whimpered. “I-I almost killed you, I hurt you. And that lady saw and called the scary men. They took my mama away, I-I’m the reason they took my mama away. It’s m-my fault.”

“No, Baby, it’s okay,” I said. “I’m sorry but you can’t get sad because then you get cold and your blue flames keep you warm and it’s going to use up all your energy.”

Frank sniffled, nodding his head. 

“I’m gonna draw, it calms me down sometimes,” he said.

Frank grabbed the hotel notepad and pen before crawling onto the bed when my phone buzzed with an email.

_We will send a plane. No need for passports or anything. I will send you the location and the plane will be there at ten tonight your time._

I smiled, going over to lay with Frank.

“Problem solved, they’re sending a private plane,” I said. “Which means that we have the next eight hours all to ourselves.” 

Frank nodded as he doodled and I ran hand over his back comfortingly. 

“We’re gonna need to go out and get some stuff,” I said.

Frank let out a sad whimper and I smiled. 

“I’ll go, you can stay here if you want and keep the bed nice and warm for me,” I said.

Frank smiled and nodded.

“But I’m gonna stay here with you for a little bit longer,” I said, pulling out my phone.

I wanted to email the man again but I didn’t think I should. He’s helping so much already and I just felt like a bother. I watched Frank draw before realizing that he was drawing little puppies.

“I’ve always wanted a dog but I wasn’t allowed to because we were always moving and my mom was worried that I might accidentally hurt it,” he said. “But I guess it’s okay, dogs kinda scare me anyways.”

I kissed his cheek, smiling at the way his legs kicked lightly in the air while he laid on his stomach.

“You’re so cute,” I said.

Frank looked at me with his beautiful glowing eyes.

“God, I’ve missed your eyes,” I said. “They are so fucking beautiful.”

Frank blushed and I kissed his cheek.

“What do you want to get for lunch?” I asked.

“Can we eat here?” Frank asked. “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel comfortable going out without my gloves.”

“That’s okay, I’ll go to the store and get you some rubber gloves when I go out later,” I said. “They might be those yellow cleaning ones, if you don’t mind.”

“That’ll be fine, anything to stop the sparks, I don’t want to hurt you from just holding your hand and using the blue flames at the same time takes a lot of energy,” he said. “Blue flames takes more energy than any other power.”

“I love you,” I said. “I love you so much.”

He blushed, burying his face into the pillow.

“You’re so fucking cute,” I said.

I smiled at his embarrassed whimper, running my fingers through his hair. But after a moment I realized that he had started crying.

“Baby, Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“I-I want my mama,” Frank sobbed.

“I know and you’re gonna see her again,” I promised.

“I miss her,” he cried. “I-I’ve never been away for her for so long and it hasn’t even been a day. I miss her.”

“It’s okay, Baby, come on, cuddle with me,” I said.

Frank sniffled and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight until he fell asleep again, freezing cold in my arms.


	23. Chapter 22

Frank was getting tired, I could tell. His flying was wavering and he began to start sinking lower and lower as he flew us from the mainland of England to the little island. I was almost crying when I saw the island, sighing in relief. It was freezing but Frank couldn’t use the blue flames to keep me warm because it would use too much energy. 

When we finally touched ground my legs felt a bit like jello. I still was not used to the flying. Frank wavered a bit before falling over and I helped him back up. We went up to where there was a large gate and a man was standing.

“We were told to come here,” I said.

“You know what you have to show us,” he said.

“Frankie, come on, show them,” I said.

Frank leaned against the brick wall, starting to fall asleep.

“Baby, come on,” I said. “I know you’re tired but you have to show them something. Show them your flames.”

Frank yawned and held up his hand, lighting up a small, weak flame but it was enough for the gates to unlock. Frank walked in and I followed but was stopped.

“Sorry, no normal people are allowed here,” he stated.

“No, I was told I could come,” I said. “He told me to bring my boyfriend.”

“That’s an invitation to your boyfriend, not you,” he said.

Frank’s lip quivered before he began crying. He was tired and scared and probably going to pass out soon.

“Please--”

“No, I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “You’re not allowed in.”

Frank wavered a bit as he sobbed before falling to the ground.

“Hey, it’s okay, he can come in,” someone said.

I looked over and realized it was the man I was skyping and emailing. I stepped inside, kneeling down beside Frank.

“Hey, I’m Bert,” he said.

“Gerard,” I mumbled. “This is Frank, it took a lot of energy to fly to the island and he’s tired.”

Bert nodded and waved someone over. The man held his hand out and Frank started floating.

“Wh-what are you doing?” I asked.

“Brendon here has telekinesis powers, he’s just moving Frank for us to your new room,” Bert explained.

I nodded, following them on the path. I saw people talking and kids playing. One kid was being chased before she disappeared and then reappeared in another spot. I gasped, full on gawking. We got to a large building that looked almost like an apartment with only two floors. We went up to the second and Bert opened a door before giving me a key.

“Here you are, a one bedroom one bathroom room,” he said.

“H-how many people are here?” I asked.

“There are only seventeen of us,” he said. “We’re trying to find more and help them. There are eleven adults, one teenager and five kids.”

We went in and Brendon set Frank down on the bed back in the bedroom.

“Someone saw Frank use his powers and called the police who informed the government,” I said. “They took his mom.”

Bert nodded. “We’ve had some trouble with that organization. They’re a special division of the CIA. They’re called the CIAP, Central Intelligence Agency of Phenomena.”

“Can you get her?” I asked.

“That’s tricky, they’re the most secretive part of the government,” he said. “I’ve known people with powers who have tried coming here for help but got caught along the way and were taken and weren’t seen again. And I’ve heard horror stories of...torturing.”

My eyes watered as I looked at Frank’s sleeping body.

“Sh-she isn’t always the nicest but that’s because she’s really protective of Frank,” I said. “But she is kind and she doesn’t deserve to be in pain. I-I don’t know what I’m gonna tell Frank when he wakes up. The two of them haven’t even spent more than seven hours apart from each other and that’s just because of school.”

“We’re going to try and get information,” he said. “I know people who work in the government..”

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

Bert nodded and glanced at Frank.

“Does this happen to him a lot?” He asked.

“Is it not normal?” I asked. “The powers just use up energy and makes him sleepy and he has seizures sometimes.”

“I don’t see it,” he said. “But then again I’ve never seen someone with as many powers as Frank, he’s special.”

I nodded, biting my lip.

“I’ll let you guys rest,” he said. “Come get me when Frank wakes up.”

I nodded, watching him walk out of our apartment. I picked up the bag I had brought with us and put them away in the closet. I looked around, seeing the cupboards stocked with cups, bowls and silverware. The fridge was empty except for a couple water bottles. There was a couch on the other side of the room with a small tv. It was small but wasn’t bad. The bathroom was stocked with shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothbrushes, towels and any other toiletries we may need.

“Frankie?” I whispered as I stepped back into the bedroom.

He was still out cold and I put a hand to his forehead, which was thankfully warm like it should be. I laid on the bed next to him and smiled. He looked so peaceful now. On the plane ride here he had been a mess, sobbing and crying because he was so upset and guilty that he was leaving his mom behind.

“Gerard?” Frank asked an hour later.

“Hey,” I said, kissing his cheek and running my fingers through his hair.

“We’re at the island?” Frank asked and I nodded. “It’s real? It’s actually real?”

“It is,” I said. “Come on, it’s time for you to meet someone.”

Frank sat up nervously and looked around. He dug through our bag and got his rubber gloves before we walked out. I found Bert sitting on a bench near the entrance with another man.

“What are you wearing?” Bert asked.

Frank looked down at his bright yellow cleaning gloves and let out a whimper, stepping behind me.

“When Frank gets scared he has lightning bolts and the rubber helps stop them or else he shocks people,” I said.

“We’ll help you so that way you won’t even need those at all,” Bert said.

He stood up and rested a hand on Frank’s shoulder but jumped back when he clearly received a shock.

“It’s okay,” I said, holding Frank’s hand. “It’s okay, he’s okay. You don’t have to be scared.”

Bert held up his hand and an orange flame appeared. Frank gasped, smiling softly.

“I-I’m not alone?” He whimpered.

“You’re not,” Bert said. “You’re here now, we’ll help you and keep you safe. You don’t need to wear those gloves anymore, it doesn’t matter if someone sees your powers.”

“N-no, I’m gonna hurt someone,” Frank whimpered, holding his hands to his chest as though Bert was going to take his gloves away. 

“We can teach you to control your powers,” he said. 

“I-I can’t—“

“You can,” Bert interrupted. “It’s okay, we’ll help you.”

A girl suddenly appeared out of thin air, making me and Frank jump in fright. 

“Sorry, this is my daughter Cleo,” Bert said. “She can teleport. She’s four and I have another newborn daughter named Minnie, we aren’t sure what power she has yet, if she has any.”

“It’s genetic?” I asked. 

“Sometimes,” He said. “Only if both parents have powers. How did you get yours, Frank?”

“I was born with them,” he said. “My grandma gave my mom a bunch of weird teas when she was pregnant with me.”

“Your grandma’s old fashioned,” he remarked. “That’s how the original people got their powers.”

“Original people?” I asked. 

“Yes, the first generation of people to have powers,” he said. “You have to be born with them and way back in the 1800s this lady experimenting with herbs and voodoo—well, not technically voodoo but a variation of it—and she drank potions while pregnant and that baby was the first to be born with powers. Some more people did that with their fetuses and then the babies with powers born ended up having offspring together.”

“How many of us are there?” Frank asked. 

“My guess is we maybe make up two or three percent of the world population,” he said. 

“What are we?” Frank asked. 

“I would say superhuman,” Bert said. 

Cleo disappeared again and we both looked around. 

“It’s takes a little while to get used to,” he said with a small chuckle. 

“Her mom doesn’t have the same power?” I asked. 

“No, they don’t exactly work like that,” Bert said. “I have fire powers, my wife has healing. They sort of just come at random and almost always just one power, sometimes two. But you’re special, Frank, you’re really special and I’m glad that I finally get to meet you. Do you think you can give us a demonstration of your powers?”

Frank looked at me nervously and I gave him a reassuring smile. We followed Bert into another building that looked like a recreation area. 

“This is my friend, Pete, he’s like my right hand man here,” Bert said. 

Pete smiled and shook hands with us. He looked a little older with dyed blond hair and a big smile. 

“You must be Frank, I heard a lot about you,” he said. 

Frank let out a nervous whimper.

“Pete can help you with controlling your powers,” Bert said. “He usually teaches the kids how to and since you’ve never been around anyone else with powers then you’re the perfect candidate.”

“I-I want my mama,” Frank whimpered. “You can find her, right? Gerard said you would help.”

“Of course, we are going to do everything that we can to help you find your mom,” he said. 

Frank nodded, fidgeting with his rubber cleaning gloves. 

“I’m gonna go and try to make some calls and then I’ll be back,” Bert said. “Stay here with Pete, he’s gonna try and help you and I’ll be back as soon as I have more info.”

We nodded and watched Bert leave. 

“Alright,” Pete said, clapping his hands once. “Who’s ready to get some work done?”


	24. Chapter 23

Frank took off his rubber gloves and lightning bolts danced in his fingers. 

“How well can you control your powers?” Pete asked. 

“I-I can make them appear when I want them to but sometimes they come when I don’t want them to,” he said. “It’s usually based on emotion.”

“It’s because you’re scared,” Pete stated. “You’re scared of your powers and you’re scared of yourself, that’s why they come based on emotions.”

“But the lightning comes when I get scared,” he said. “But like the fire comes I get angry and sometimes I float when I’m happy and I get cold when I get sad.”

“Ice powers?” Pete asked. “Gerard didn’t mention that.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” I said. 

“But because you don’t feel like you’re in control of your powers, you feel like they control you and that’s why they pop up based on emotions,” he said. 

Frank sniffled and looked down. 

“You don’t have to be upset, it happens to plenty of people,” he said. “Bert used to have that problem. When he would get angry he would use his fire powers without meaning to. His parents both had powers but we aren’t sure what happened to them, we think they were taken by the CIAP because he was found in a box as a baby and was put into the foster system.”

“How did he find this place?” I asked. 

“He made this place,” he stated. “He used to travel a lot, went backpacking all across Europe, he was like the Chris McCandless of the world, except he didn’t stay in a bus and die. He found this uncharted island and decided to make it his home and find more people like him that needed help.”

“Am I the only one here without powers?” I asked. 

Pete nodded. “There’s sort of a rule here, no non-superhumans. You’re the first one to ever set foot on this island.”

I nodded and Pete smiled.

“Now, can you show me all your powers?” He asked.

Frank held up his hand with a bright orange flame.

“Good,” Pete said, writing something down.

Frank made lightning dance on his fingers next. He showed off all his powers one by one before he finished and stood there nervously.

“Now, Gerard says that you pass out or have seizures from using your powers too much,” he said. “It uses up energy?”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “Is that not normal?”

“No, I haven’t seen that happen before but I’ve also never seen anyone with as many powers as you have,” he said. “But hopefully when we help you then you can get into better control of your powers and that won’t happen. I saw you when you first came in, you could barely stand and then you just passed out. I’ve never seen that.”

Frank bit his lip, his fingers fidgeting. 

“I’m gonna help you so you don’t have to go through that anymore,” he said. “How’s that sound?”

“Really good,” Frank said with a small smile. 

“Alright, the problem is that you’re scared of your powers, that’s why you can’t control them,” Pete said. “It’s gonna be mostly just a mental feat that you have to go through. Do you want Gerard here?”

Frank looked at me and bit his lip. His eyes were glowing and his fingers were dancing with electricity and I knew he wanted to say no but was too nervous to say anything about it. 

“I’m gonna go explore this place, okay?” I asked and he nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

I got a small zap when I kissed his cheek before I left. I found Bert talking to some people on the phone and I stood by a little awkwardly.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked when he hung up.

“Oh, Frank is with Pete and wanted to be alone,” I said. “But I just have a few questions. We had to just flee because some shit happened and we picked up a couple things before we got onto a plane but we don’t have a lot of clothes and I was wondering how we could get some. Also, what about food?”

“We have someone from the mainland bring us food,” he said. “And you can go with him and buy clothes if you want without being rushed. I wouldn’t recommend having Frank go until he gets more control over his powers, he’ll probably get pretty scared being in a different country.”

I nodded, biting my lip. 

“We’re really safe here?” I asked. 

“Absolutely,” He said. “And I’ll let you know as soon as I get word on Frank’s mom.”

I nodded and walked away. There were people walking around talking and laughing but it was mostly empty for the island that was bigger than I thought it would be. People whispered and looked at me, especially the few kids that were here. 

Maybe I should try to introduce myself to people? Usually just the thought would make me nervous but for some reason I wasn’t, before remembering that Frank got rid of my anxiety. 

“Hi, I’m Gerard,” I said, walking up to a group of relatively young people. 

They looked to be in their twenties and all pretty young. One was a pretty girl with blonde hair, a black haired girl and a boy with short brown hair. They seemed to know each other as they sat apart from the group. 

“Hey, I’m Tyler,” the man said. “This is my girlfriend Jenna and this is Sarah.”

The two smiled and I bit my lip. 

“Sorry, I’m just trying to introduce myself to people, my boyfriend and I got here earlier today,” I said. 

“Oh, yeah, we heard a kid was coming in who had, like, thirty powers,” Sarah said. 

“He only has, like, seven,” I said. 

“That’s still a lot, no one here has more than one and it's extremely rare to even have two,” Tyler said. 

“Is he even able to control all those powers?” Jenna asked. 

“Um, not really,” I said. “Pete’s gonna help him.”

“Well good, sometimes when people aren’t in control they can hurt other people here,” she said.

“I thought you guys couldn’t be hurt,” I said. 

“Only people with healing powers, the rest of us can get hurt and can die,” Tyler said. 

“So people with healing powers can’t die?” I asked. 

“They can under certain circumstances,” he said. 

“I’m still learning,” I admitted. “What powers do you have?” 

“Lightning,” Tyler said. “A pretty common one.”

“I can manipulate plantlife,” Jenna said. “Make them grow and stuff.”

“Like poison ivy,” I said. “The comic character.”

“Yeah, just like her,” she agreed. 

“And I have the most useless power in the whole world,” Sarah said. “So it’s kinda like teleportation but I can only go from one room to the next. So like I can teleport ten feet which isn’t very helpful. But if I accidentally lock myself out of my apartment I can just teleport in. Other than that it’s pretty useless.”

I chuckled softly and Tyler looked at his watch. 

“Sorry, we have to get going for dinner,” he said. “Talk to you later.”

I waved as I watched them go inside. I sat on a bench, looking around. It was chilly here but definitely colder in the New Jersey. Thankfully I made sure to buy some warm clothes. Do we have to throw the credit card away? Do I have to throw my phone away?

It was turned off now, I wouldn’t even really be able to use it outside of the United States. I thought back to my family and how worried they must be. Jamia too, we were connected at the hip and I just left her without saying goodbye. I left her all alone while she was still going through her stuff, I left her to go through it all alone. 

“Hey,” someone said. 

I wiped away my tears, smiling politely as I looked up at Bert. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah, Yeah, everything is fine,” I said. “Just a little homesick.”

“Well, since you don’t have food yet I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tonight with my family,” Bert said. 

“Yeah, That sounds nice,” I said. 

“Alright, we’re in room 1A, come by around seven,” he said. 

I smiled and nodded and he walked off. I looked at the kids who played but still looked at me curiously. I was trying my hardest not to cry but tears burned my eyes. My family was probably so worried, what do they think happened?

“You don’t have powers?” A boy asked when he walked up to me. 

“No,” I said quietly. 

“That’s weird,” he said. “Look at my powers.”

He went to the building and climbed right up the walls like Spider-Man. The boy smiled before running off to play again. I sniffled, looking down at my lap. 

“Hi,” Frank said quietly as he sat beside me. 

He was freezing cold when I touched him, holding his hand despite it. 

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

“Pete minored in psychology,” Frank said. “And this is basically like therapy because I have to do mental stuff to try and control my powers. I think I’m in therapy now.”

“Maybe it’ll help,” i said. 

Frank nodded, scooting closer to me. 

“Did Bert say anything about my mom yet?” Frank asked. 

“No but we’re going over to his place for dinner,” I said. 

Frank nodded but I could feel his body growing colder and colder. I unfortunately had to let go of his hand and sit a little farther away because he even radiated cold. 

“I miss my mama,” he whimpered. 

“I know,” I said. “Come on, we should probably head over to Bert’s soon, we need to shower and stuff.”

“I don’t want to go,” Frank mumbled. “I’m not hungry, I just wanna cuddle with you.”

“Alright then, we’ll just go and cuddle,” I said. “I’ll let Bert know.”

“I-I Love you,” he whispered. 

“I know, baby, I love you too,” I said, giving him a kiss. 

Frank smiled softly, his eyes glowing as he warmed up a little bit. 

“How about we watch tv and cuddle on the couch under a blanket,” I suggested. 

Frank nodded and I smiled as I walked inside the building with him.


	25. Chapter 24

It was early morning when I woke up and smiled softly at Frank beside me. He was in a deep sleep, like he always is. I got up and got dressed. Out the window I saw some people with crates and I went out to see what it was. It was pretty cold out and I wished I had a jacket but my hoodie would be enough once it became midday. 

“Oh, perfect,” Bert said. “We got a shipment of food for you guys and he can bring you back to go clothes shopping.”

“Can we go tomorrow?” I asked. “Frank will get scared if he wakes up and he doesn’t know where I’ve gone, it’s only the first night here.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Bert said. “I’ll help you bring stuff into your room.”

We picked up two crates and brought them into our kitchen. 

“This is some basic stuff, milk, juice, fruits, chips, things like that,” he said. “We have a clipboard in the recreation room and you can write down something specific you want. There’s also extra shampoo and conditioner.”

“Thank you,” I said. 

The bedroom door opened and a sleepy Frank stepped out. 

“Hey, good morning,” I said. “Does there happen to be coffee?”

“Yep, you’ve got a machine here and things to make it here,” Bert said. 

“Thank you,” I said. 

“I’ll see you guys later,” he said.

Bert walked out and I smiled, kissing Frank’s forehead. 

“My Mama?” Frank whimpered. 

“I’m sorry, she isn’t here yet, Baby,” I said. “You want some coffee?”

Frank nodded, looking through the two crates. 

“Hey, Frankie, it’s okay, I’ll make it,” I said. “You can go lay down if you want.”

“I feel bad,” he mumbled. “You’ve been doing so much work.”

“It’s okay, Baby,” I said. “I don’t mind, you just need to rest.”

I got the stuff and began making some coffee. Frank held his hand out and the items from grate all floated up and put themselves away into cupboards and the fridge. 

“Thank you,” I said. 

Frank nodded, sitting on the couch. 

“There are some granola bars for breakfast,” I said. “And we’ll have to put a list of other things to get. We can ask for some pancake mix.”

“Sounds good,” Frank mumbled. 

I looked over and saw him looking down sadly. 

“Maybe some chocolates too,” I said. 

Frank didn’t say anything and I poured us both coffee before giving it to him. We were both quiet as we drank coffee and ate granola bars. 

“Come on, let’s go on a little walk,” I said after we cuddled for a little while. 

Frank got dressed but didn’t seem the happiest with it. We were let out passed the gates and walkers down to the shore. We sat down together under the cloudy sky and I pulled him close. I was shivering but Frank held the blue flame against me to keep me warm. We watched the water lap against the shore and I felt frank relax. 

“This is peaceful and nice,” I said. 

Frank nodded and I smiled.

“I love you,” I said.

Frank sniffled and I rubbed his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Baby,” I said. “They’re gonna get your mom and then it’ll be fine, we’ll all be together here together.”

Frank nodded and I kissed the top of his head. 

“I love you,” I said. “I love you so much.”

It was quiet other than the lapping of water and the seagulls squawked overhead. We sat together in silence for an hour before Frank finally spoke.

“You should go,” he whispered.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You have to go back to your family, you can’t leave them,” he said.

“I’m not leaving you,” I stated. “I can’t. I don’t want to leave you.”

Frank looked up at me with watery eyes and I kissed his forehead.

“Do you wanna go in?” I asked. “We can eat.”

Frank nodded and we were let back inside. Bert stopped us, holding a piece of paper.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a fax,” he said. “A fax of a photocopy of a New Jersey newspaper.”

He handed it to me and my stomach dropped.

Three people were killed in a car accident late Tuesday night. Linda Iero, 45, her son Frank Iero, 18, and a friend, Gerard Way, 17. They had been driving late at night when it was suspected that Linda lost control on the car and the car rolled into a ditch. Unfortunately, all three died on impact. Way’s family will be holding a memorial service on Friday.

“Wh-what is this?” I whimpered.

Bert seemed to try and look for words as Frank took the paper from me.

“The government faked our deaths?” I asked.

The paper in Frank’s hand lit up in flames from anger.

“How could they do this?” I asked.

“I’m really sorry,” he said. 

“My parents won’t believe it,” I said. “They’ll want to see a body--”

“I know someone in that area,” Bert interrupted. “That’s how I got this article, he sent it to me because he knew about you two coming here. There is a body, someone your height and size and skin color and they dyed his hair black like yours. And...they bashed his face so your family wouldn’t be able to identify and they said that it happened in the accident, you’re having a closed casket.”

“They killed someone else just to fake my death?” I asked.

“No, it was most likely a coma patient, a John Doe,” he said.

My lip quivered as I looked down.

“They really think I’m dead?” I asked. 

“Frank? You alright?” Bert asked.

I looked over and saw flames covering his hands and moving up his arms.

“Frankie, y-you have to calm down,” I said.

I wiped my eyes, my lip quivering. Pete dumped a bucket of water over his head and the flames were immediately put out.

“Sorry, buddy,” Pete said, patting Frank’s shoulder. “But you can’t put anything on fire here, it’s like a big smoke signal.”

Frank’s fists were clenched tight as he looked down at the ashes of the paper.

“Frankie--”

My words were cut off when Frank stormed inside.

“I’m really sorry,” Bert said.

“H-how could they do this?” I cried.

“This is just how the government does things,” he said. “They’re faking your deaths so your family won’t question when or if you get taken by them. They’re still trying to find you.”

“I need to call my family, tell them what happened,” I said, pulling out my phone. “They must be heartbroken.”

“I’m sorry but you can’t,” Bert whispered. “And you can’t have that here either, it’s traceable.”

Bert held out his hand and I sniffled, handing him my phone.

“I’ll have this taken and dumped back in the United States somewhere,” he said. “Where’s Frank’s?”

“He didn’t bring his, it was a rush when we left,” I said.

Tears were still rolling down my cheeks as I walked back inside. The bathroom door was shut and I walked in to see him sitting in the bathtub with all his clothes on.

“How could they fucking do this?” He spat. “They took my mom away from me and now they’re breaking your family’s heart too! They can’t fucking do this!”

“Why are you in the bath?” I asked quietly.

“So I don’t light anything on fire,” he mumbled. “They’re treating us like we’re nothing, just shoving us away and pretending we’re dead.”

I sniffled, sitting in the tub with him with my clothes on. I sat on the opposite side as I faced him.

“Gerard, get out,” he said. “You can’t be in here with me.”

I ignored him, moving over to lay my head on his chest as I sobbed. Frank looked down at me in surprise and I saw the blue flame out of the corner of my eye.

“No, no,” I sobbed. “Just…”

I took his hand as the flame extinguished and rested it on his head. He ran his fingers through my hair and I cried. Frank seemed hesitant with his movements and I realized he’s never done this before, never comforted someone without just using his healing powers. I sobbed into his chest, gripping onto his shirt.

“They think I’m dead,” I cried.

Frank kept his hand in my hair, pulling me closer in the water. Clothes clung to my skin but I wasn’t worrying about that. I could only think of my parents who thought their eldest son was dead and my Mikey, who thought he lost his big brother. Even my Jamia, she thinks her best friend died in a car crash. 

We sat in the tub and I was just starting to fall asleep as the water grew cold when Frank gently shook my shoulder. 

“Baby, you have to get out,” he said. “I’m not as angry anymore so there might be sparks.”

I sniffled and yawned, sitting up. I got out and took off my sodden clothes. I wrapped myself in a towel, shivering as I looked at Frank. 

“Are you coming?” I asked. 

Frank nodded and stood up. He took off his clothes and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. We put on some warm clothes, some sweatpants and hoodies. We laid on the couch together with the tv playing but neither of us were really paying attention. 

“Everything will be okay?” Frank asked. 

My lip quivered as he looked at me with his big, hopeful green eyes. 

“Yeah, it will,” I said but it didn’t sound convincing to either of us. 

I intertwined our fingers and kissed his cheek. 

“I’m gonna go tomorrow and get some clothes and other stuff for us,” I said. “You want me to pick you up some pencils and a sketchbook?”

Frank sniffled and nodded his head. 

“I might be gone when you wake up so I just wanted to let you know,” I said. 

Frank nodded and I gave him a kiss. We cuddled together and although I was still upset being with him made me feel a little bit better. But every now and then when I would think about it I’d cry again before calming down and then the whole cycle would start over again. I laid here, trying my best not to think about it as I laid in his arms.


	26. Chapter 25

“Can you really make this happen?” I asked. 

Frank shrugged and squatted down next to the water. He put his hand on it and the whole pond froze over. He stood up, smiling as he took my hand. I stepped out onto the ice and giggled. The pond was frozen over and my sneakers slipped a bit but I thankfully didn’t fall. 

Three weeks we’ve been here now and every day was a little bit easier than the last. It took some time to adjust and Frank seemed to be getting more comfortable here. Everyone here was nice and most all of them were really interested and fascinated by Frank and the number of powers that he has.

“Frankie!” I gasped, holding his shoulders.

He smiled and held me steady so we could skate on the ice--without any actual skates. Other kids came to join us and I grinned. We skated around on our sneakers and held hands. Bert came over and Frank looked at him eagerly.

“Have you found my mom?” He asked hopefully.

“We’ve found a woman who fits her description at a remote location,” Bert said.

“It’s her?” Frank gasped. “We need to get her. I’ll get her, I’ll go myself. They can’t stop me as long as I don’t pass out from using too much energy--”

“Frank,” Bert interrupted. “First of all, we aren’t sure yet if it’s her. Second, you can’t go, we’ll have someone else go that isn’t on this island.”

“P-please, you have to get her,” Frank whimpered.

“I know, we’re trying our hardest,” he said. “Do you think I could get a picture of you two? Your mom might not cooperate unless she knows you’re really here and you’re safe.”

We nodded and he held up a polaroid camera. We smiled for the picture and he took it out and shook it.

“Oh, that looks nice,” I said, smiling as I looked at it.

“You know what, why don’t we get another picture just for you to keep,” he said.

I smiled, nodding my head. I wrapped an arm around Frank’s waist again for the picture and he handed it to us when it developed.

“Oh, it’s cute,” I said. “Come on.”

We went inside and I grabbed some tape, taping the polaroid up above the bed.”

“That’s so cute,” I said. “What do you think?”

“It’s cute,” he mumbled.

I looked at him as he turned a little cold.

“Frankie?” I asked. 

“I-I miss my mama,” he whimpered. 

“I know,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around him. “It’s gonna be okay, Baby.”

Frank sniffled and nodded. 

“I think that maybe we should ask Bert for our own polaroid,” I said. “We can cover this whole wall in beautiful pictures.”

Frank nodded with a small smile. He warmed up and I sat on the bed, pulling him onto my lap.

“So, I have a question,” I said. “How are your special sessions with Pete?”

“They’re good,” he said.

“What do you talk about?” I asked.

“I don’t know, stuff,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

Frank nodded with a thankful smile. He laid his head on my shoulder and I rubbed his back gently. Frank looked at me with his glowing eyes and I kissed his cheek.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“No but I want some hot chocolate,” he said.

I smiled and nodded. We mixed together milk and the powder and Frank heated the mugs with his fire. We sat on the couch together, turning on the tv. He flipped through the channels and let out a sigh when he remembered there wasn’t any American stations. We settled on a show of a bunch of people with accents talking about something we weren’t exactly sure of the topic but it was still funny.

There was a knock on the door and I went over, smiling when I opened it and saw Alison, Bert’s wife. She was beautiful with long brown hair and the prettiest smile.

“Hello, Bert was just wondering if you two were still on for dinner tonight,” she said.

“Yes, we’ll be there,” I said.

“Good, he’s excited to have someone new to cook for,” she said.

I shut the door when she walked away and Frank whined.

“Do we have to go?” He asked.

“Yes, it’ll be good, we need to get to know everyone here better,” I said.

“Or we can just stay here alone together for the rest of our lives,” he said.

I shook my head, kissing his forehead.

“It’ll be fine,” I said.

Frank huffed unhappily in the cutest way possible. I giggled, giving him a kiss.

“Do you want to join me in the shower?” I asked.

“I can’t be in water with you, you know that,” he mumbled.

I nodded and walked to the shower. I didn’t spend long in there, cleaning up my hair. I got out and got dressed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. Frank wore a sweater that I had bought for him, a pink sweater similar to the one he wore on our first date.

“Cutie,” I said, giving him a kiss.

We went down to their apartment and Bert smiled when they let us in. Cleo appeared in front of us and gave Frank a small scare, causing him to shock me.

“Cleopatra, no teleporting in the house,” Bert said.

I smiled, holding Frank’s hand.

“Come in,” Bert said. ‘I just finished up dinner.”

I looked around at all the pictures on the walls as he lead us to the table. On the nearby couch Alison was sitting with a blanket over her chest and a bump under it, letting me to assume that she was breastfeeding.

“I’ll be done in just a minute,” she said.

“Cleo, can you wash up?” Bert asked and she disappeared into thin air. “Cleo, no teleporting.”

We sat down and I saw frank’s fingers dancing with electricity.

“Are you okay, Frank?” Bert asked.

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m--” Frank paused to take a deep breath, “I’m fine. I’m sorry, I’m still trying to get a handle on my powers.”

“No, don’t apologize, it’s fine,” he said. “I get it. I made spinach enchiladas. Tortillas with spinach, cheese, garlic, onions and enchilada sauce.”

“It sounds really good,” I said.

I looked over at Frank and he nodded. He went to the kitchen and Frank tugged on my sleeve as I felt a shock. He looked at me, his eyes weren’t glowing but they were big and scared.

“Frankie,” I whispered. “It’s okay, everything is gonna be fine, okay?”

Frank took a deep breath and nodded. He closed his eyes, mouthing words before he relaxed a bit. Cleo hurried in, sitting excitedly across from us. 

“Are you the boss now?” Cleo asked. “You have the most powers. More than the whole world! You’re the king?”

“No,” Frank denied. “I-I’m definitely not, you dad is still in charge.”

Bert walked in with a pan just as Alison joined us at the table. Minnie was put into a little rocker where she began to doze off. We were all dished up food and Frank nervously picked at it.

“So, Frank, where are you from?” Alison asked.

“I was born in Oregon but moved all over the country,” he said.

“Where are you from?” I asked, noticing her slight accent.

“I’m from Australia,” she said.

“How did you get up here?” I asked.

“I have healing powers and had been helping people on the downlow but then word got out and things got a little crazy and I had to go into hiding,” she said. “But then Bert came into contact with me and told me about this place where I could be safe and he came down to Australia and showed me his powers. I thought I had been alone. I lived with my step-dad, my mom died when I was young and I didn’t know my father so I didn’t know they had powers, my step-dad didn’t even know. He thought I was Jesus reincarnated. But I went back with him and ended up falling in love and the rest is self-explanatory.”

I smiled softly as she gestured to Cleo.

“How did you two meet?” Bert asked.

I looked at Frank and he just stared back and I knew he wouldn’t want to tell the story.

“He moved in down the street and I offered to be friends with him because he was the new kid in school,” I said. “And then he saved a bookshelf from falling on my head and that’s how I learned he had powers. Then I just fell head over heels for him.”

“New boy, that’s so cute,” Bert said. “A little cliche but still really cute.”

“He makes it cute,” I said. “He was so sweet and shy.”

Frank blushed, holding my hand. His eyes were glowing and Cleo gasped. 

“That’s so cool!” She exclaimed. “Can I do that?”

“I’ve never seen that, what is it?” Alison asked. 

“It’s nothing really, my eyes just glow sometimes, there’s really no other use for it,” Frank said. “It really doesn’t do anything.”

“They’re very pretty,” Alison said. 

“Thank you,” Frank said with a small blush as he looked down. 

“I want that,” Cleo said. 

“You can already teleport, that’s a pretty special one,” Bert said. “Especially since you don’t have any limitations.”

“Limitations?” I asked. 

“Yeah, normally people with teleportation powers have limitations,” Bert explained. “Like Sarah, she can only teleport within a ten foot radius. Usually it’s things like that. But she doesn’t have any, she could go to C-H-I-N-A if she wanted.”

“What’s that?” Cleo asked and I assumed she couldn’t spell. 

“Nothing, just the bedroom,” he said. “And some people can’t teleport while holding something but she can. Well, not that they can’t teleport but the thing they’re holding won’t teleport with them.”

“I feel like I’m in school I’ve been learning so much,” I said. 

Bert chuckled and Cleo gasped. 

“I go to school!” She exclaimed. “Do you wanna come with me? We’re making macaroni necklaces tomorrow!”

“Jenna is a school teacher here,” Alison said. “Have you met her? She’s the sweetest and we have a garden here on the island that is always fully stocked because of her. If you ever want something just take it, there’s all sorts of vegetables and fruits.”

“I have met her, she’s nice,” I said. “I don’t think Frank has, though. He hasn’t really talked to anyone here.”

Frank scowled at me but his eyes still glowed. 

“Well, maybe you can come to our special night this Saturday, it’s a great way to meet people,” Bert said. 

Special nights were something that had here every Saturday night. It was held in the recreation room but frank and I have skipped it for the past three weeks, mostly due on part to Frank’s request. 

“I think this week we were gonna just play board games,” he said. 

“I think that sounds like fun,” I said. “We’ll think about it.”

“We would love to have you both,” he said. “And people are very excited to meet you, Frank.”

Frank blushed and soon we were done. I could tell frank didn’t really want to eat but cleaned most of his plate anyways. 

“It was so nice having you over,” Bert said. “We should do it again.”

“We should,” I agreed. 

We went back up to our apartment and Frank immediately stripped down to curl into bed. I changed into my pajamas and laid with him, the cold resonating off his skin.


	27. Chapter 26

I gasped, catching my breath before I pulled out and laid down next to Frank. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as he stared up at the ceiling. Finally, he curled up close to my side with a small smile.

“I’m glad I don’t feel pain anymore,” he mumbled. “The one time we tried to have sex when I didn’t have my powers it really hurt my ass.”

I chuckled, running my fingers through his hair. I kissed his forehead, holding him tight.

“God I love you,” I muttered.

Frank smiled, giving me a kiss.

“I love you too,” he said.

Frank was starting to get a little better at expressing himself after almost two months of being here. I was really glad, I was able to watch him grow.

“God, you are so beautiful,” I whispered. “How did I become so lucky?”

Frank giggled, his eyes glowing green.

“You’re so cute,” I said. 

I picked up our little polaroid camera and we smiled as I took a picture of us, the sheets covering us below the waist. Frank smiled at the photo, resting his head on my shoulder.

“I think this camera was a really nice idea,” he said. “I love taking pictures, ‘specially on the beach.”

“Me too,” I said. “Maybe we can go to the beach now.”

“I just wanna cuddle for a little bit longer,” he said. “I don’t wanna leave your arms, not ever in a million years.”

I smiled, kissing his cheek. 

“God, I love you so much,” I said. “You’re my whole world.”

Being away from my family hurt everyday but it was starting to get better. I missed them like crazy, especially Jamia. I wish I could just Skype them and tell them that I’m okay. Frank was still heartbroken over his mom, he cried in my arms every single night. 

“Let’s get some breakfast,” I said. 

Frank nodded and I got up, putting on a pair of boxers. I walked to the kitchen and opened up the fridge.

“How do omelettes sound?” I asked.

“It’s good,” he said. “I’m just gonna go rinse off in the shower, I’m all sticky.”

I nodded, watching him walk over to the bathroom. I cooked quickly and it was done just about as soon as he was done with the shower. Frank smiled and gave me a kiss.

“Thank you,” he said, sitting at the counter with me.

“Of course, Baby,” I said.

We were quiet as we ate and I sighed. 

“What’s wrong?” Frank asked. 

“Nothing,” I said. 

Frank looked at me, his fingers sparking up. 

“Baby, it’s nothing,” I said. “I’m just thinking about something.”

“What?” He asked. 

“It’s a surprise, if I told you it would spoilt it,” I said. 

“I don’t like surprises,” Frank whimpered, his eyes watering as he looked at me, a bolt of lightning dancing up his neck. “Please don’t surprise me.”

I sighed. “I was just thinking about how living here together feels like a married couple or something. And then I was thinking about how we could get married and how I should buy a ring.”

“G-Gerard, we’re too young,” he said.

“Not actually married or engaged,” I said. “But promised to each other. Can we be promised to each other?”

Frank looked at me in surprise before smiling. He nodded slowly and I leaned forward to give him a kiss. 

“I love you,” I whispered. 

“I love you,” he repeated. 

We finished eating and went to the bedroom to get dressed. The two of us went downstairs and walked out, looking around at everyone who talked happily. I saw Jenna out in the garden, talking to her plants while she sat. We walked in her direction and she greeted us with a warm smile. 

“How are the plants today?” I asked. 

“Not happy,” She said. “It’s been a bit dry lately.”

“I’ll help you get the hose set up later, Bert just got an extension for you,” I said. 

“Thank you, That’s so sweet,” she said. “What are you two up to?”

“Just walking,” I said. 

“Well if you go near the water there’s some high tides today,” she said. 

I nodded, holding his hand. We walked away towards the back wall where frank picked me up and flew us over it. The waves crashed under the cloudy grey sky above us. 

“H-has Bert said anything yet?” Frank asked and I shook my head. “Oh, okay.”

Frank has still been eagerly waiting for news on his mom but hasn’t heard anything yet.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I said, squeezing his hand.

Frank nodded and we sat down on the sand. It was cold today but Frank’s blue flame in our intertwined hands kept me warm.

“I wish I was like you,” i whispered. “I wish that I could do the things that you do, the amazing things.”

Frank sniffled, wiping his eyes.

“I wish I had your life,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about anything happening to your mom.”

“And you don’t either because she’s gonna be okay,” I said.

Frank nodded, laying down. I curled with him, smiling softly.

“Frank!” Someone called.

I sat up and Frank hurried over the wall, leaving me behind. I scowled, looking at the brick wall in front of me.

“Frank!” I called.

I tried jumping to reached the top and climb over but it was pointless, I was nowhere near tall enough.

“Frankie!” I shouted.

I stood there and waited but he tackled me to the ground.

“They found her,” he sobbed. “They found my mommy.”

I smiled, hugging Frank tight. I thought he might just squeeze me to death. He was crying heavily, his whole body shaking.

“Baby, it’s okay, don’t cry now,” I said.

Frank sobbed, nodding his head. He took a few deep breaths as he grinned. 

“When’s she coming?” I asked. 

“I don’t know,” he said. “Th-they said she’s at a military base just west of Texas. They’re gonna get her out and bring her here.”

I smiled, running my fingers through his hair. 

“That’s amazing,” I said. 

Frank nodded as he wiped his eyes. We got up and he flew us over the wall again where Bert and Pete were waiting. 

“We’ll get her here as soon as we can,” Bert promised. “Would you two want to move into a two bedroom apartment or be in two separate one bedroom apartments.”

“Separate is fine, we’re already moved in,” I said. 

Frank looked at me with a whimper. 

“We can give her the one right next to yours so it’s practically like you’re together,” Bert said and frank nodded at that option. “We brought in some ice cream to celebrate if you would like some.”

“I would love it,” I said. 

Frank nodded, holding my hand. We walked over to where everyone was dishing out ice cream inside the recreation room. Most didn’t seem to know what it was for but didn’t seem to care, they were just happy for the treat. 

“I can get some for us,” Frank said. 

He held his hand up and two cones lifted into the air. Perfect scoops of ice cream rose up before plopping into the cone. 

“I will never stop being amazed by that,” I said, taking the cone as it floated to me. 

“Maybe I should join the circus then,” he said. 

“I would pay to see you,” I said. “And pay for other things too but that’s prostitution and that’s illegal.”

“But technically this island isn’t part of any country so there aren’t any laws,” Frank said. 

“Good point, if only we didn’t share money,” I said. 

Bert has people work around here to earn money. Frank got the job of mowing the lawn so he sat on the bench with his hand in the air using his telekinesis to move the mower. I cleaned up the recreation room, which wasn’t bad because it didn’t usually get very messy, unless it’s raining and the kids have to stay inside. 

Frank was a lot happier now, we spent the day by the water like usual but he floated around a lot, al giggly and smiley. 

“I’m gonna see my mama again,” Frank said. 

“I know,” I replied. 

He grinned as he floated upside down in front of me. 

“You look like you’re in an anti-gravity chamber,” I said. 

“Sometimes I float when I get happy, it doesn’t happen very often but sometimes it does,” he said. “I’m so happy right now. I get to see my mama again.”

I smiled, laying down on my back. I watched him float over the water, gently grazing the waves with his fingertips. He floated over, sighing as he laid beside me. 

“I love you,” I whispered. 

“I love you too,” Frank said. “I love you as much as my mama.”

I smiled, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. We stayed cuddled until it began to get dark out and the waves seemed quieter and calmer. People retired to their apartments, leaving the outside empty and quiet. 

“Let’s go in,” I said quietly. 

Frank hummed before he nodded. He seemed a little sleepy as he stood up and flew us back over the wall. We went into the apartment and I sighed, glancing towards the kitchen. 

“What do you want for dinner?” I asked. 

I didn’t get an answer but instead lips against mine. He kissed me roughly and I moaned, pulling him close. Usually Frank was sad at night, I could hardly get him to eat. He would just cry himself to sleep in my arms. The only time we had sex was when one of us woke up with morning wood. 

“You okay?” I asked, my lips brushing against his neck as he shuddered. 

“Perfect,” He said. “I want you, a-and I want to top this time.”

“Sounds great to me,” I said. 

Frank grinned, pulling me back to the bedroom.


	28. Chapter 27

The gate opened and Frank screamed. He flew over and tackled his mom in a hug. She groaned, covered in black and blue bruises with her arm at an odd angle. He used the blue flames to heal her completely and she sighed. Frank sobbed, clinging to her tight.

“Baby,” Ms. Iero cried. “Baby, oh my sweet Junior.”

Frank was a mess as he sobbed, tears and snot covering his face. 

“Let me up, Baby, let’s go,” Ms. Iero said but Frank didn’t move. “We gotta let them close the gate, we’re in the way.”

Frank floated up but didn’t let go. He kept his arms around her neck as she got up and walked towards the building. 

“I’ll show you your room, there’s more privacy there,” Bert said. 

We walked into her apartment where he left us alone. 

“Mommy, I missed you,” frank sobbed. 

“I know, Junior, I missed you too,” she whispered. “Come on, get packed up and we’ll go.”

“I-I like it here, mama,” Frank said. “I wanna stay. I like it.”

“We can’t stay, we don’t know these people, they could be tricking you,” she said. 

“They aren’t, they have powers too,” Frank said. “Gerard found them. They’re so nice. They help me, they’re helping me control my powers. Please, mama, I don’t wanna go.”

She stood up and went back to our room. 

“Come on, grab your bags,” she said. 

“They have powers here too, mama, look,” Frank said. 

He pulled her to the window and we saw Cleo teleporting around while Brendon used his telekinesis to move some boxes around. She gasped softly as she watched them. 

“I’m not alone, Mommy, they’re like me,” He said. 

“They have the curse,” she said. 

“It’s not a curse, mama, they’re powers,” Frank corrected. 

“You’ve accepted them?” She asked and he nodded. “How have you grown so much? How long has it been?”

“A little while,” Frank said. “We missed Christmas together.”

“We can have our own Christmas,” she said. 

“Can we please stay?” Frank begged. 

“I-I don’t know, Junior, it’s supposed to be just us two,” she said. “We can go back, maybe go to Canada this time. And Gerard can come too.”

“Mama, I like it here,” Frank said. “Come meet Bert.”

We walked out but Ms. Iero was reluctant, claiming we should stay inside and start packing instead. 

“Bert, I want you to meet my mama,” Frank said. 

“I’m Bert, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he said. 

She looked at his held out hand and held Frank’s hand. 

“Come on, Junior, we need to leave,” she said. 

“No, you guys can stay,” Bert said. “It’s okay, you guys are safe here. I know you probably went through a lot at the military base and I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it with me but the boys are safe here and so are you.”

He held up his hand and erupted a little flame. 

“Your son isn’t alone, this is a sanctuary for our kind,” he said. 

“I don’t know about all of this, I think that it would be best for us to just go our own way,” Ms. iero said. “Thank you for taking care of him but I’m here now and I can do it myself.”

“Mama, please, I like it here,” Frank said.

“Junior--”

“I’m not leaving,’ Frank interrupted. “You can’t make me go back.”

Ms. Iero stared in shock, clearly not expecting the sweet little boy to ever talk back to her.

“Junior,” Ms. Iero said and Frank whimpered nervously.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” he cried. “I’m really sorry. I-I didn’t mean to.”

Frank curled up at his mom’s feet as he sobbed.

“It’s okay, Junior,” she said. “Let’s go get packed up now.”

Frank sniffled and nodded. I frowned, watching the two walk inside hand in hand.

“I have to convince them to stay, Frank needs help controlling his powers and if he doesn’t then the cycle is going to start all over again,” I said. “He can’t handle any more, he can’t hurt more people.”

“Just convince them to stay the night,” Bert said. “One night and she’ll see that it’s nice here.”

I nodded, following them into our apartment.

“It’s late, we should at least just stay the night,” i said. “It’s getting late and I’m sure Frankie is getting tired.”

Frank nodded and she sighed.

“Fine but we’re leaving in the morning, with or without you, Gerard,” she said.

I nodded and Frank bit his lip.

“Do you wanna cuddle with your mom?” I asked and he nodded. “Go for it, Frank it’s fine.”

He smiled and the two left. I sighed, looking around my apartment. I went in and grabbed a shower before heading off to bed. It was weird sleeping here alone, I was so used to cuddling with Frank at night.

The next morning I woke up to Frank shaking me. I mumbled sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked when I noticed he was crying.

“I don’t wanna leave, Gerard, but mama says we have to,” he whimpered.

“Make her breakfast and then she’ll have to stay for a little bit longer and she can see how great it is,” I said.

He nodded, crawling into bed with me.

“She isn’t awake just yet, I just wanted to cuddle for a bit,” he said.

I smiled and kissed him softly, pressing him back against the mattress. He smiled softly before I started kissing him again. We just kissed softly for a little while before he finally got out of bed to go cook. He’s been getting better at practicing cooking.

The door opened just as Frank was finishing up cooking. Mrs. Iero was already showered and seemed ready to go.

“Just wait until after breakfast, Mama,” Frank said. “I made you some pancakes, they’ve got chocolate chips in them.”

“I’m sure they’re delicious but we should really--”

Ms. Iero was interrupted when Frank started crying.

“Mommy, mommy please,” he sobbed. “I love it here, I want to stay. They’re helping me, they’re all just like me. I wanna stay, mama.”

“You know we can’t, Junior,” she said. “We have to go.”

“I’m not going, you can’t make me,” Frank stated.

Ms. Iero grabbed his wrist to pull him to the door but jumped back.

“D-did you just shock me?” She asked.

“I’m not leaving,” Frank said but his voice wavered a bit nervously.

Lightning bolts began dancing over all of his skin so she wouldn’t be able to touch him.

“Junior, stop this,” she said.

“I don’t wanna go,” he cried. “I wanna stay here. I am staying here, you can’t make me leave.”

“Junior, this is ridiculous, you’re only eighteen, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ms. Iero said. “We need to leave now. We don’t have to go to Canada, just pick a place in the world and we will go live there.”

“No,” Frank denied.

“Frankie,” I whispered.

“It’s nice here, mama,” he said. “I’m not leaving.”

Ms. Iero frowned, her lips pressed into a firm line.

“You won’t even give it a chance,” he said.

“Fine, I’ll give this place a chance,” she said. “But if I ever at all feel like you are in danger then we are leaving.”

Frank nodded and the lightning bolts stopped. He hugged her tight and helped to heal her burnt hand.

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Mommy, I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay, Junior,” she mumbled, kissing the top of his head.

“I wanna introduce you to everyone,” he said. “Everyone here is so nice.”

Ms. Iero still looked a little unsure as we went down to the courtyard.

“Pete, this is my mama,” Frank said. “Pete helps me with controlling my powers. I’ve been getting a lot better with it. I don’t get so cold so I’m not so tired anymore.”

“He’s been doing really well, he only lit the curtains on fire once from electricity and I’ve only been shocked a couple of times this week,” Pete said with a small chuckle.

“I barely get fire anymore unless I want it to come and the lightning doesn’t come very often either,” Frank said.

“He really has been getting a lot of help,” I said. “He’s been doing so much better. He’s happy.”

Frank nodded and pulled her over to the garden.

“You can have fresh ingredients whenever you want,” he said. “Jenna can manipulate plants so she takes care of the garden. It’s amazing, you should see her. And she talks to them and they’ll wave around. It’s so cool, I love it. This is the vegetable garden and there's also one for fruit and another for flowers. The flower garden is so beautiful, it takes up the entire back of the apartment building. The ivy on the buildings is because of her, she makes them more beautiful. She’ll also make houseplants for you too if you just buy the pot and seeds.”

“Why is the weather so nice here?” She asked. “It’s winter and I’m fine in just a hoodie.”

“Oh, that’s Ryan, he’s the other teenager here,” Frank said. “He can manipulate the weather so he keeps this whole island at a nice temperature. On Christmas he covered this whole place in snow and we all ran around building snowmen and making snow angels.”

When we went to the back we found Ryan in the flower garden, a cloud over him to sprinkle water onto the flowers. He waved and we decided to leave him alone, he wasn’t much of a talker. 

“It’s really amazing here, Mama,” he said. “Everyone is so nice.”

Cleo appeared in front of us, making Ms. Iero shriek in fear.

“This is Cleo, she’s Bert’s daughter and she can teleport,” he said.

“Are you Frank’s mommy?” She asked.

“Yeah, I am,” Ms. Iero said.

“Do you wanna meet my mommy and baby sister?” She asked.

Cleo disappeared and I chuckled.

“Sometimes she forgets people can’t teleport too and follow her,” I said.

“Come on, we should go and meet Bert and his family,” Frank said. “They’ve really helped us out a lot here.”

Frank held his mom’s hand, pulling her inside to Bert’s apartment building.


	29. Chapter 28

I smiled at Frank, my hand gently rubbing his bare hip. He had a sweet little smile on his face, his eyes glowing. 

“I was thinking something,” I said softly. 

It’s been a while since either of us talked and my voice seemed to bring him out of his sleepy, post-sex haze. 

“Hm?” Frank hummed.

“I want to get powers too,” I said. 

Frank sat up and looked down at me. 

“That’s not possible,” he said. “Y-you have to be born with it.”

“But what if you don’t?” I asked. “We can talk to Pete.”

Frank reached over and held my hand. 

“You know, it’s a huge strain on the body,” he said. 

“For you It is, no one with one power has the strain, it’s only because you’ve got, like seven,” I said. “I’m the only one here without powers, in the odd one out.”

“My mom’s here now and she doesn’t have any,” he said. 

I sat up and gently cupped his cheek. He smiled, his skin warm with a small blush. I leaned forward and kissed him softly. 

“I love you,” I whispered. 

Frank gave a small giggle, his eyes that glowing yellow-green color that I loved so much. It was my new favorite color. 

“Why do you want powers?” He asked. 

“I wanna be like you,” I said. “And maybe one day we can also have a little baby with powers.”

“I may be weird but I can’t carry a child,” he said. 

“I’m not saying that we get pregnant, you dork,” I said, rolling my eyes. 

“What then?” He asked. 

“We could have a surrogate mom, someone else here,” I said. “It’s awkward to ask now but maybe in a few years once we get to know people here better.”

“We’re not even married,” he said. 

“Let’s get married,” I stated. 

“Gerard—“

“I’m serious,” I interrupted. “We can get married. I love you so much and I want to be with you forever.”

Frank’s lips were parted slightly and I waited for a rejection before he broke out into a grin. 

“Let’s get married,” he agreed. 

I giggled and tackled him back against the bed. He giggled as I kissed up his neck before he pushed me away. 

“Wait, we need rings and stuff and we need to plan a wedding and need to tell my mom and—“

“Baby, just relax,” I interrupted. 

Frank stopped and took a deep breath.

“We’re gonna get married,” he whispered.

I grinned, nodding my head.

“Gonna get married,” he repeated.

I kissed his cheek and he giggled.

“I-I wanna,” Frank blushed and looked down. “I…”

“What is it?” I asked.

“I wanna get a pretty ring,” he mumbled. “One with a pretty gem on it.”

“Like a girl’s ring?” I asked.

Frank shrugged. “I just think they’re pretty is all. It’s okay if I don’t, I just thought that it would be pretty is all.”

“No it’s okay,” I said. “We’ll get you a very pretty ring if you want. We’ll save up with our chore money and then we’ll go to a pawn shop and pick out some rings.”

“Thank you,” he said.

Frank left the room and I frowned before he came back with a ball of dark purple yarn. He tied a little bit of string around both our left ring fingers.

“There, temporary rings,” he said.

I smiled, looking into Frank’s glowing eyes.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you too,” he said.

Frank gave me a soft kiss and I grinned.

“I can proudly call you my fiance now,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m engaged, I’m living on an island, I’m gonna be eighteen soon, I’m surrounded by so many amazing people.”

“Don’t you miss your family?” He asked.

“I do,” I admitted. “I really do but...you’re my family. I love you.”

“C-can I go tell my mama?” He asked.

“Of course you can, Baby,” I said with a chuckle.

Frank gave me a soft kiss before he stood up and got dressed.

“I’ll be back later,” he said.

“Alright, I’m just gonna go out for a little walk,” I said. “Just give me another kiss before you go.”

I gave him a soft kiss and he let out a little giggle.

“What a cutie,” I muttered.

Frank smiled and left and I got dressed. I was just about to leave when Ms. Iero walked in, dragging a crying Frank with her.

“You boys are too young to be getting married,” she said. “You’re great and all, Gerard, but you’re only seventeen. You two are too young to be getting married.”

“Mama, I love him so much,” Frank said. “We’re in love.”

“You are too young,” she stated.

“We’ll be so happy together,” I said. “I can take care of frank. I love him so much.”

“You are still too young, you’re just kids,” she stated. 

Frank looked at her and scowled. 

“I’m gonna get married anyways!” Frank shouted. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

His mom stared, shock evident on her face. 

“Y-you’re angry but you’re not on fire,” she said. 

“Told you this place has helped,” He mumbled. 

“Junior—“

“No,” Frank interrupted. “I love Gerard and I’m going to marry him. I just hope you’ll be there for the wedding.”

Frank was clearly trying to keep his façade but I knew he was close to crippling and falling to his knees to beg his mom for forgiveness for yelling at her. 

“Junior,” his mom stated. 

She looked at him with raised eyebrows and Frank’s lip began to quiver. 

“Mommy,” he whimpered. “I-I wanna marry him. I love him.”

Frank sniffled and curled up to his mom’s feet, making my heart drop. 

“I’m sorry, mama,” he whispered. 

“It’s okay, Baby, maybe you two can get engaged in a few years,” she said. “Maybe when you’ve both grown a bit.”

“I’m saying I’m sorry because I’m still going to get married,” Frank said “I want you here with me, Mommy.”

Frank stood up and flew over the couch to me. He sniffled, hugging me and burying his face into the crook of my neck. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

“It’s gonna be fine, Ms. Iero,” I said. “We love each other. I can take care of him.”

“You don’t know what he needs, you didn’t take care of him and protect him his whole life,” she said. 

“He doesn’t need protection anymore, he’s safe,” I said. “We’re all safe.”

I ran my fingers through his hair and he pulled away. 

“We’re gonna get married, Mommy,” Frank said. 

He took my hand and pulled me out of the building. Everyone was milking around, talking and laughing together. 

“Hey, Ryan!” I called and we hurried over. “Guess what, we got engaged.”

“For real?” Ryan asked. 

I nodded, holding up my hand with my little yarn ring. 

“Oh, wow,” he said “that’s so cool. I’ll make sure it’s nice and sunny on your wedding day.”

I grinned, holding Frank’s hand. We walked off towards the flower garden together. 

“You feeling okay, Baby?” I asked. “I know that must’ve been hard on you to stand up to your mom like that.”

“It was,” he mumbled. “But it’s definitely worth it because I love you so much. I really want to marry you.”

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist to pull him close. I rest my forehead against his, a huge grin on my face. 

“Gonna be my husband, we’re gonna live happily ever after,” I whispered. 

“I love you,” he said. 

His skin was warm, a happy aura around him. I began to feel a bubbling feeling inside of me. 

“I-I think you’re projecting your emotions onto me,” I said. “Is that a power you have?”

“I-I don’t know, I’ve never done that before,” he said. “Wait, let me get really sad. I’ll think of the saddest thing I could.”

Frank closed his eyes and I watched in slight amusement. But then a cold washed over me, a bitterness that made me want to cry. My lip began to quiver, heart quenching in sorrow. 

“S-stop,” I sobbed. 

Frank opened his eyes and it all left. 

“You can project emotions,” I said. “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about how I lost my mama,” he said. “Now I’m sad.”

I held his hand, feeling the icy touch against my skin. 

“It’s okay, you’ve got your mom back now,” I said.

“Yeah but it’s not the same,” he mumbled. “She was my best friend, we did everything together. We never argued, never fought, never disagreed on anything. We were so happy together traveling around the country. But now we just argue and fight and...we just don’t get along like we used to. First we argued about staying here and now we’re arguing over our marriage. It’s too much.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Frankie,” I said. “Soon she’ll see how amazing this place is and she’ll see how amazing we are together.”

“Yeah,” he said with a small smile as he began to warm up.

“We should go talk to Pete and see about me getting magic,” I said.

Frank nodded and we went to the commons room. Jenna and Sarah were messing with some flowers in the corner, making them bloom and grow.

“Have you seen Pete around?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s in the kitchen, sweetheart,” Jenna said.

We went into the community kitchen and found Pete in the pantry.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he searched through the shelves.

“Looking for the flour, what the hell happened to it,” he muttered.

“We’ve got some if you want to borrow it,” I said. “I think we ran out in the community pantry.”

“Thank you, I’m craving cupcakes,” he said. “What can I do for you two?”

“I want powers,” I said.

“Powers? How do you suppose you’ll get them?” He asked with a small chuckle.

“The teas that frank’s mom drank,” I said.

“That’s not possible, you must be born with them,” he said. “Either from a pregnant mother ingesting the herbs or receiving it genetically from the parents.”

“It has to be possible,” I said. “Can we at least try? Try the herbs or think of something else?”

Pete sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine, I’ll try to think of something.”


	30. Chapter  29

I laid on my back, watching Frank fly around in the sky. Ryan made it a little bit warmer today and everyone was outside and happy. Cleo was making flower chains next to me, teleporting to get new flowers before teleporting back to her original spot.

“One for you and one for frankie,” she said, handing me two daisy chains.

“Thank you, Cleo, I love it,” I said. “And I know Frank will too.”

She smiled and teleported away to go to her dad.

“Junior,” Frank’s mom called.

She was still trying to adjust but wasn’t doing her best. She still didn’t feel very safe here, she wanted to take Frank away to Canada.

“Hey, Gerard,” Bert said. “I-I got the stuff, are you sure you want to see this?”

I nodded and sat up.

“Gerard, come on, this is pretty heavy stuff,” he said.

I nodded again and he sighed, sitting next to me with the laptop. The video began playing and I bit my lip. 

It was a video from my ‘funeral.’ The whole thing was filmed at the request of my grandpa. He was old and couldn’t attend because of being bed-ridden but still wanted to see it. I wanted to see the footage myself. 

It immediately showed a small room full of close friends and family, it must’ve been invite-only. Everyone was silent, there wasn’t a single whisper among the crowd. The cameraman moved up the aisle of seats towards the casket. In there was a body that looked somewhat like me, but the facial bruising and cuts made it so it was just distinguishable. My parents would think it was me with just a bruised up face. 

Pictures and flowers surrounded the casket and the camera panned around to the crowd. Jamia was sobbing heavily, scratching at her arms. Her mom and older sister were trying to comfort her but it seemed like Jamia didn’t even notice they were there. 

Mikey stood next to the casket with my parents, all three crying. Mikes didn’t even bother wearing his glasses, he’d have to take them off so many times to wipe his eyes that it’d just be pointless. Our family priest began to speak but I didn’t listen, just watched everyone’s faces. 

I shut the laptop, tears running down my cheeks. 

“You okay?” Bert asked. 

I nodded, turning my back to him. I heard footsteps walk off as I glanced around to find Frank. He wasn’t flying anymore and I wasn’t sure where he went after his mom called for him. All I knew was that I needed him. 

“Gerard?” A soft voice asked. “Wh-What’s wrong?”

I looked up at Frank and sniffled. 

“They all think I’m dead,” I whispered. 

He sat beside me and looked at the laptop.

“He showed you?” He asked. “Baby, I told you that you shouldn’t have watched your own funeral. Come on, my mom will make us some hot chocolate.”

“I need to go see them, Frank,” I said. 

“W-we can’t leave the island, you said so yourself,” he whimpered. “It’s gonna be okay, Gee. They’ll move on.”

“I don’t want them to move on!” I cried. “I want to hug them and tell them I’m okay.”

Frank bit his lip. “We’ll find a way to send a message, we’ll record a video and have someone sneak it to them. Or we can find a way to send it without it being traceable.”

I nodded and he kissed my cheek. We went into the kitchen of the rec room where Pete was. 

“Ah, just in time,” he said. 

He handed me a little cup full of a translucent brown liquid. I sniffed it and couldn’t help but grimace. i have never been a very big fan of tea. 

“And this will give me powers?” I asked. 

“Well, I can’t guarantee anything but this is a start,” he said. “We can try this and if not then we’ll work something else out.”

I took a small sip of the watery, herbal taste and cringed. 

“Something wrong?” Frank asked. “Does it hurt? Don’t drink it if something is wrong.”

“No, I just don’t like the taste of tea,” I said. 

We sat down at the table and I choked down the rest of my drink, trying my best not to throw it up again. When it was done I began to feel light-headed, leaning against Frank. 

“Hey, maybe you should lay down,” Pete suggested. “Go lay in the game room, they have the softest couches.”

They led me through a door where some kids were, which Pete quickly kicked out. I laid on one of the soft couches, quickly closing my eyes to stop the room from spinning. Fingers ran through my hair, a warm feeling washing over me. 

“No, Frank, don’t use the blue flames,” Pete said. “You have to let his body go through this on his own.”

The warm feeling left, leaving me cold and sick again. 

“What was in there?” Frank asked. 

Pete said something in response but he sounded distant, like I was listening to him underwater. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter and whimpered. 

“Listen, Gerard, If you change your mind then I’ll stop this,” Frank said. “I can use my powers to wash all the shit out of your system.”

I shook my head, trying to work my way through it. 

“C-can…can we p-put on s-some music?” I choked out. 

Anything to distract myself. 

Frank replied but it sounded distant again. Soft music started playing and I took a few deep breaths. I could hear them talking with each other quietly but everything was starting to fade away. I felt someone shaking me, trying to urge me awake but it was too late. 

-+-

By the time I woke up again I could hear screaming and crying. I was outside and Frank was a few feet away, curled up into a ball as electricity danced around him and his mom yelled at him. 

“How could you have done this?!” She shouted. “You could have killed him! What were you thinking?!”

The sparks increased the more she yelled and I gasped. I pulled off the oxygen mask on my face and sat up slowly, feeling hands on my shoulders to help me. 

“Frankie,” I whispered. 

He looked up and gasped, jumping into my arms. I smiled, hugging him tight. 

“Oh, you’re okay,” he muttered. “I’m so glad. I was so worried.”

Frank smiled, giving me a soft kiss

“Do you have powers now?” He asked. 

“I don’t know, do I?” I asked. 

“Try lifting up your hand, think of fire,” he said. 

He held up my hand and stared at it. 

“Imagine the fire there,” he said. 

I tried doing as he said but nothing happened. I tried with every power I could think of but nothing worked. 

“I don’t think it helped at all,” Pete said. “Listen, I don’t think that we should try this again.”

“Damn right you’re not trying again,” Ms. Iero said. “It was dumb enough for you to listen to some kids in the first place. Frank, go to your room.”

“I’m eighteen, you can’t tell me to go to my room,” he said. “Baby, it’s okay that you didn’t get powers. We don’t have to continue this.”

“I want to,” I insisted. 

“Are you sure, Gerard?” Pete asked and I nodded. 

“No, we are not doing this,” Ms. Iero stayed. “It is dangerous and stupid.”

I rested my head on Frank’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. He ran his fingers through my hair as I sniffled. I really thought I was about to get powers. 

“I love you,” I whispered. 

“I love you too,” he said. 

I sat up, looking around curiously. People were watching from a distance and I noticed that the spot I laid on had extra plush grass. 

“I grew it out a little for you,” Jenna said. “Just to keep you comfortable.”

“What happened?” I asked. 

“You passed out,” Pete told me. “You began having some kind of reaction to the tea. You had a seizure and we rushed you outside to try and get some help. Frank didn’t use his blue flames, we let your body go through it. I have a theory that it could work if we try again in a different way, your body just needed a taste first to get accustomed to all the shit that it takes to get powers. This was just a taste, okay? Your body needs a taste first before it can accept.”

“Like getting a vaccination?” Frank asked. 

“Yeah, in a way,” he agreed. “Right now you just need to rest.”

Frank held his hand out and I suddenly floated. He used his telekinesis to carry me back to our apartment and set me down in bed. He cuddled up with me and I smiled happily, kissing his cheek. 

“I was so scared that you were gone,” He said. “I mean, I could’ve always brought you back and healed you with my flames but it would be too close for comfort. I thought that you were going to get hurt.”

“I’m okay, Baby, I know that you would always keep me safe no matter what,” I said. 

I gave him a soft kiss and pulled him down so he laid his head on my chest. Frank seemed comfortable here, sweet little Frankie who didn’t want to hurt a soul. 

“I still can’t believe we’re here,” he said. “We’re here together somewhere safe where I can show my powers. Where there are other people who also have powers. And you’re going to get powers too.”

“It’ll all be perfect,” I said. 

I pulled him closer, shutting my eyes. 

“My mom is gonna want to yell at us some more,” he said. 

“Let her, it won’t stop us,” I said. “We’ll get powers and get married and start our own perfect little powerful family.”

Frank chuckled and nodded, staying with me until I fell asleep.


End file.
